As Australia galloped to a six-wicket victory that gave them possession of all bilateral trophies in Test matches for the first time since the dying days of the “golden years” in 2008, Virat Kohli seemingly made sandpaper gestures to sections of the SCG crowd.
Cheap shots, it must be said, are now all the rest of the world have left to fire at Pat Cummins’ team, after a seven-year journey that has seen them rise to the undisputed summit of Test cricket by playing the game the right way.
Virat Kohli and his apparent sandpaper gestures.Credit: cricket.com.au
But it must also be said that this triumph, leaving Cummins and his men to frolic on the Sydney outfield in late afternoon with their families on Jane McGrath “Pink Day” as threatening clouds rolled in from the south, was a credit not merely to the team but to the wider system of which they are a part.
This victory over India was truly an achievement of historical resonance. Not since the 1997 Ashes tour had an Australian Test team won a series from 1-0 down. Not since 1968-69 had they done so on home soil.
As importantly, not since the days of Mark Taylor – who led that 1997 team – had Australia claimed such rarified air without generating a sense of rancour or bitterness among opponents who felt they played the game too hard.
Indeed, it was a turnaround from much of recent history to have the game’s major behavioural battle fought over whether India had pushed too far in trying to ruffle the 19-year-old opener Sam Konstas, moving Gautam Gambhir to talk about Test cricket being a hard game for hard men. That sort of rhetoric was once the preserve of Matthew “it’s not tiddlywinks” Hayden and others.
Instead of having to defend his team against accusations of sharp practice, Cummins could sit and reflect on how it had taken a strong squad and wider domestic network to deliver victory.
Where the team had faced some criticism in recent times for being too much of a closed shop, the selection panel led by George Bailey had actually pulled a lot of smart and prescient reins over these matches by looking beyond the incumbents.
Three of the most impactful members of the team were not in the first choice 11 at the start of the summer: Scott Boland, Sydney debutant Beau Webster and Konstas.
Boland’s phenomenal series, 21 wickets at 13.19, striking every 29 balls, made life much easier for Cummins (25 wickets at 21.36) and covered seamlessly for Josh Hazlewood. Webster was composure personified in Sydney, contributing sensible runs, tight overs and sharp catches. And Konstas’ Boxing Day blast will go down as a turning point in the series as a whole, as well as pointing to a fruitful future.
The inclusion of Konstas also contributed to the box office appeal of a summer that brought remarkable crowds, rounded off by three consecutive days of more than 47,000 spectators packing the SCG. Among other things, outgoing Cricket Australia chief executive Nick Hockley has undeniably enhanced his reputation as a major events specialist.
Top four attended Test series in Australia
- Ashes 1936-37 946,750
- Ashes 2017-18 866,732
- Ashes 1946-47 846,766
- India 2024-25 837,879
Four years ago, when Australia tripped up against India on home soil, there had been valid criticism of the team’s failure to refresh the XI at the back end of the series. Then coach Justin Langer protested that it was difficult to tell senior players they could not play, but Australia did just that with Mitch Marsh here.
More broadly, the emergence of Konstas and Webster from domestic ranks this season has helped widen the field of options from which Bailey and company can choose in coming years.
Tempting as it may have been to panic when India won the first Test in Perth by a massive margin, the Australians were able to recalibrate calmly, in much the same fashion as they had done for the 2023 ODI World Cup in India.
Beau Webster hit the winning runs.Credit: Getty Images
“You can very easily panic in those situations and change a lot,” Cummins said. “I think it’s more important to realise we’re still number one in the world, we’re a very good team, stay strong.
“You need more than 11 players. You need an amazing squad, amazing support staff, to be able to win everywhere in the world. I think that’s what we’ve been able to do. An amazing series in England, won the World Test Championship in England, but also some of those subcontinent tours. So that consistency over a few years to do that with a very similar squad has been massive.”
