All things Aussie

Another sub continent team bit the dust down under. SriLanka were never hot favorites to make the Aussies sweat in their own bastion but a capitulation like the one they suffered wasn't expected either. The Lankan batting is generally filled with batsmen who are flat track bullies. Dilshan, M Jayawardene and Samaraweera all have test averages biased towards innings in sub continent conditions. Even Sangakara couldn't provide the spark he did the last time in Hobart. There were a few glimpses of good batsmanship with Dilshan scoring a ton and Mahela getting a couple of purring half centuries at Sydney but one swallow doesn't make a summer. The Australians on the other hand were clinical after facing a reverse against the Proteas earlier in the summer. Phil Hughes seems to have filled the big void made by Ponting reasonably well and their skipper is in the middle of such a purple patch right now that he fills in for two batsmen. Hussey was consistent as ever in his last series in international cricket. His was a career that bloomed late but his exploits made up for the time lost. He was one of the cricketers you can count upon to deliver more often than not in testing conditions. The sobriquet he earned with his dedication to the game was not ill deserved. The Aussies have now lost two legends in quick succession to father time and it won't be long before they notice this absence. They travel to test India and though the current Indian line up should not be cause for nightmares to them, they would not sleep easy either.

The Australian Open beckons and the memories of last year's men's final still lingers. There would be no Rafa around this time for an encore but the Rod Laver arena should see some interesting tennis nonetheless. Roger has announced that he is fit and eager to compete with the best and with Del Potro getting back into some of his best form, Novak will have a good fight on his hands to make it three titles in a row. With Murray breaking his grand slam duck and Ferrer fighting like a hound, there won't be a dearth of contenders for the crown on the men's side. The women's draw should be open likewise but more because of the fragility of its exponents. Serena, Sharapova, Azarenka, Wozniaki and Kvitove should all be in the mix but a surprise winner would not be considered an upset. Djokovich and Serena start as favorites for me. Let the summer simmer with some exquisite tennis.