SYDNEY, Sept 9, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Australia’s cricketers have restored
national pride by retaining the coveted Ashes trophy following a reputation-
shattering cheating scandal, according to the country’s media who bragged:
“We urned it.”
Eighteen months ago, Australian cricket hit rock bottom when then-captain
Steve Smith, his deputy David Warner and opener Cameron Bancroft were
involved in a brazen attempt to alter the ball with sandpaper in a Cape Town
Test.
It rattled the game, sparking a clean-out of executive ranks at Cricket
Australia, long bans for the three guilty players and the resignation of
then-coach Darren Lehmann.
Justin Langer was appointed to help restore faith in Australian cricket and
bring cultural change to a team that was infamous for its abrasive attitude.
The team struggled to adjust, but under the leadership of “accidental
captain” Tim Paine and with greats Ricky Ponting and Steve Waugh recruited as
mentors, they have come out the other side.
“With coach Justin Langer, and the planning of team staff that stretches
back two years, the Australian team under Paine has gone beyond just
restoring that pride,” said the Sydney Daily Telegraph.
“They have become winners in their own right, and everyone loves a winner.”
The Australian newspaper said the team were “almost purified by their
victory”.
“After the sorrows and setbacks of the last 18 months, the country’s
cricket has something to celebrate at last,” it added.
After Sunday’s 185-run victory at Old Trafford on Sunday to retain the
Ashes urn, an emotional Paine praised the character of his players.
“I couldn’t be more proud of the way our group have handled everything
thrown at them,” he said.
“We haven’t had a lot of success and not a lot of happy times. But we are
beginning to get them and that is awesome.”
Fox Sports screamed “We urned it” in its main headline, while broadcaster
Channel Nine said the “ghosts of Leeds” had been buried, referring to their
agonising third Test loss at Headingley.
Retaining the Ashes was built on the back of the incredible batting prowess
of Smith, whose return for the series after serving his one-year ball-
tampering ban showed how badly he had been missed.
The Sydney Morning Herald said it will always be remembered as “Smith’s
Ashes”.
“Despite missing one-and-a-half Tests, he has made enough runs for three
batsmen and more than twice as many as any other on either side,” it noted,
while former skipper Mark Taylor said “there’s no superlatives left” to
describe his exploits.
Smith has scored an astonishing 671 runs at an average innings of 134.2,
including three hundreds, ahead of the fifth and final Test starting later
this week at the Oval.