It is not a new phenomenon, believing that brave, backs-to-the-wall, never-say-die cricket is somehow uniquely Australian. Similarly, Virat Kohli has been described by none other than Greg Chappell as being one of the most Aussie non-Aussies batsmen we have seen on our shores.  

Really, Greg?
I feel it’s meant as a compliment but dig deeper and there’s an arrogance or condescension that lurks beneath. As if the ultimate compliment must be to “be Australian”! For Indians, that could not be further from the truth.

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What was apparent as the Indian run-chase was nearing its stunning climax at the Gabba was the astonishing number of ordinary Australians who were enthusiastically rooting for India. Not since the West Indians of the late 1970s and 1980s has a winning touring team been so warmly supported by the Australian public. They have occasionally been fond of visiting teams but it’s usually been when that team has gone down bravely. I cannot recall so many Australians riding the touring team to victory, cheering every run with so much joy.

It speaks to the resilience of this young squad and the dignified way that Ajinka Rahane led them. Grace.  Dignity. Calm. These were the common themes used to describe Ajju and how it warmed the hearts of the natives. We will never know if Kohli would have elicited the same emotions although Admiration and (grudging) Respect will always be his legacy in Australia.

I work in the area of bullying/harassment education, empowering people to speak out against evil. Our 2021 Australian of The Year is one such person—she had the courage to do exactly that after suffering childhood abuse at the hands of a teacher. They say that when you lose your respect for someone, you lose your fear of them too. Perhaps there is a grain of truth in this; it might explain young India’s refusal to be dominated after the Adelaide debacle.

It probably also speaks to Brand Australia and how it is viewed by a domestic audience who genuinely wanted to believe that this team had turned over a new leaf in terms of its culture. After the sandpaper incident of 2018, the so-called Player’s Charter and the Cultural Reviews were perceived as genuine and sincere. But secretly, many Australians wondered if this would actually melt away in the furnace, when the blowtorch was applied to Australia. A few graceless incidents do not necessarily render this redundant but there is a growing sense of unease that we are slowly heading back down that slippery slope, where that invisible line that only Australian cricketers can see is being crossed too often. 

If Tim Paine is to be given credit for leading Australia out of the shadows of Cape Town’s Table Mountain, he must also then be held responsible for the inexorable slide back into mediocrity for his has been the most public betrayal of those earnest promises.  

You don’t the need the wisdom of hindsight to realise that any pact that expected players to police their own behaviour standards was never likely to stand the test of time. The Australian sense of mateship that is apparently so unique to this country is not philosophically suited to calling out your mate when he is being a “d'''head” (not my insult!). Clearly, the senior players who were presumably part of the think-tank who drafted the Player’s Pact were deafeningly silent when Paine lost his rag and surrendered the last of the moral high ground. It was never going to work—expecting the players to be their own judge and jury when it comes to holding each other accountable. 

Elite mateship and Elite honesty, two of the so-called values that they aspired to have been shown up as being incompatible. Sometimes your best mate need to be brutally honest with you. Clearly, this isn’t happening on the field when the heat is on.  

Humble Team India 
The Indian team of 2021 left these shores with a warm tradewind at their backs. They came, they quarantined, they endured, they were bowled out for 36, they held on in Sydney and they stormed the fortress in Brisbane. Rahane and his humble men join the ranks of the great West Indians under Clive Lloyd and Viv Richards as being one of the few touring teams to win the hearts of the locals. As proud as India must be of them, we too share your pride and your admiration, as much for their spirit as the end result. Anyone can win but not everyone can win with grace. That’s Elite humility.