Australia; bringing all the cricket joy in 2013

Cricket Australia.  Thank you very much for continuing to entertain us all throughout 2013, and in so many different ways.  It is hard to believe we are not even at the halfway point in the year yet, and next up it’s The Ashes.

Remember this is Australia that recently dominated the sport for almost a generation.

Here is a potted history of the good times to date.

• Michael Hussey retiring from international despite the fact that back-to-back Ashes series were just around the corner.  And to think they used to call him Mr Cricket.
• Homeworkgate.  Where to start with that one.  Four players stood down for a test match for not completing their homework assignments.  It sounded bizarre at the time, and it still sounds bizarre now.  Four players stood down for a test match.  Four players who were seen as being more disruptive to team spirit than David Warner.  To make it stranger, Shane Watson used the time off to fly home for the birth of his child to return just in time to captain the side in a test match.
• Losing a test series 4-0 in India; the most humiliating defeat since the 69/70 season.
• Xavier Doherty returning to test cricket.
• Ditto with Phil Hughes.
• David Warner’s expletive laden tweets aimed at Australian cricket journalists who dared to suggest that the IPL was not necessarily in the best interests of Australian cricket.  Warner was involved in the IPL at the time, along with three of his mates from Sydney that he had flown over for the party.
• Mitchell Johnson’s hair.
• Being dismissed for 65 against India.  OK, it was only a warm-up ODI but still; India had earlier scored 308.
• David Warner’s bar brawl with Joe Root.  Sensing the pattern now?  While a jumped up little prat wearing a comedy beard must be tempting it does signify some pretty major issues.  Apart from the obvious ones, to known as a regular in one of those Walkabout pubs is a bit of a worry.
• Sacking their coach two weeks before an Ashes series starts.  I seems strange that he kept his job after a test series towelling from India yet ditched Arthur following an early exit from an ODI tournament where they had a cruel run with the draw and weather.
• UPDATE.  Now Michael Clarke has resigned as selector.  Not the happiest of camps then.

There are probably more golden moments too (let’s leave Warne out of this); it is hard to remember them all at once.

For a reminder of the golden years of Australian cricket here are the best bits of a gem of a book from Dennis Lillee.  Featuring fitness and fashion tips