Early Year - The Demon, WG, and the birth of the Ashes
If the Australian team were 4 for 65 chasing 85 to win and lost a test match these days they would be ridiculed in the daily papers for a week and then forgiven. In 1882 it was far worse for the English team. They were ridiculed in the paper and told they had killed English cricket. The Ashes were born and with it some legends of the game.
Turn of the century - Trumper Time
The batting of Trumper dominates the rose coloured memories of this era. While his batting was magnificent, England still had their fair share of success, especially once the MCC took over the conducting of tours of English teams. An unheralded player of this period was England's S F Barnes who took 189 wickets at 16.43 in only 27 matches.
Hobbs and Sutcliffe - rule the Roost
What a shame for England that Hobbs and Sutcliffe were deprived their prime cricketing years by The Great War. In spite of this they managed to still show great form during the 20's at ages when they should have been past it. The decade was a mixed bag with both teams dominating at various ends of the decade.
Bradman and Bodyline
While 1930s cricket discussions focus on bodyline, there was much more to the decade. There was a sublime first tour by Bradman in 1930. The first ever comeback from 2-0 down in a series by the Australian's in 1936-37 as well as successful tours in 1934 (led by Bill Woodfull) and 1938 (led by 'the Don').
The Fun Forties
Apart from the overwhelming genius and dominance of Bradman, this was a period that produced not only great cricketers, but great men, who played cricket the right way. In the case of the incomparable Keith Miller, his experiences in WWII as a Lancaster pilot meant that cricket would always be a game, not life and death. Add to that Morris, Harvey, Barnes, as well as Loxton and Lindwall, plus Bedser, Compton, and Hutton for England made this a decade to remember, despite the spectre of War hanging over it all .
The Boring Fifties
Cricket administrators, with their mandatory new ball every 50 overs must certainly share the blame with a generation of risk-averse British batsmen (see Peter May, Bill Edrich). The Australians were not blameless, with 'Slasher' Mackay, and Jim Burke, famous stonewallers, also doing their bit to ensure that this decade almost brought test cricket to its knees. The 1953 series, won 1-0 by the Brits (4 draws) is the best illustration of this era.
Entertainment returns
A conscious effort was made by both sides to play more positive cricket in this era - Benaud as captain, had a major effect in this area, but in the end was only partially successful. Two issues dominated the era - over-prepared pitches, and throwing. Ian Meckiff had his career ended by umpire Colin Edgar, but was certainly not the only one who was guilty of 'straightening' his arm. Many pitches were low and slow (the SCG and MCG in particular), and this sometimes made it hard to play positive cricket.
The Chappell Era
The decade began with England regaining the Ashes in Australia and ended with an Australian team ravaged by World Series Cricket being thrashed 5-1. In between the Chappell brothers with the help of Lillee, Thommo and Marsh strode the world stage with typical Australian swagger.
Botham and Border
The brilliance of Both', winning matches solo, infuriating and delighting crowds in equal measure, coincided with an Australian team in the midst of change. Allan Border went from pugnacious middle-order bat and reluctant leader, to become the most successful batsman of his era, and forged a team in his image - aggressive, athletic and hard. By the end of his stint, he was the leading run-scorer in tests, and he had established a great foundation for what was to become the Golden Age of Australian cricket.
Waugh and Warne Taylor Success
Arguably the best Aussie batting lineup since the Invincibles, add to that the best batsman-wicketkeeper of all-time (Gilchrist), the best leg-spinner and the most accurate paceman (McGrath) of the modern era made this truly the Golden Age of Aussie cricket. Taylor was very successful in moulding a great team, but it was Steve Waugh that brought a ruthless edge to his captaincy, and a hunger to not just win series, but grind opposition teams into the dust, culminating in a record run of 16 test wins.
Aussie Dominance Ended
As a lover of the game, there is a feeling that the Brits' victory in the last series was the best thing that could have happened for test cricket. The emergence of Mahmood and Panesar is hopefully a sign that England are starting to tap into the huge pool of talented English players with an Asian background. It also gave us a glimpse into the future - McGrath and Warne only come along once in a generation, and whilst we could field at least two test-class batting lineups, it would be a stretch to say the same about our bowlers.
