Cricket: Australians fail the Waugh test of all-time greatness

9.00 AM

MADRAS - Steve Waugh's Australians may, for some, deserve the title of the greatest ever cricket side to play the game but at least one man central to the debate remains unconvinced.

Their captain.

Steve Waugh, fresh from breaking the world record of consecutive test wins, had set the standard high before heading for India.

"The Indian series will be the one we'll be judged on," he had declared. "If we don't perform over there, then possibly we're not as good as other sides that have won there in other eras."

Last night (NZ time), he was hoisted with his own petard as India snatched the three-test series 2-1.

Saurav Ganguly's side, against all expectations, came back from losing the first test in Bombay and being forced to follow on in the second in Calcutta to record an improbable series success.

Waugh, however, was quick to defend his team's achievements after the two-wicket defeat.

"It's for people to judge which the best team ever is. We did win 16 tests in a row and that's a great effort," he told reporters.

"While we may have lost this series, we don't believe it reflects everything.

"We put in our best effort today and while winning is important, it's not everything. I am a little disappointed but not overly disappointed."

For many Australians, the 1948 side under Don Bradman was a better unit, while others favour Richie Benaud's 1958 team, Ian Chappell's in the early 1970s or Clive Lloyd's West Indians in the 1980s, who held the previous record of 11 test wins in a row.

In recent years, Australia have beaten every major cricket-playing nation in the world both home and away. Except for India, where they have not won a series since 1969.

A 10-wicket win in the first test in Bombay inside three days had seemed to presage the end of that famine, only for Australia to fail to hammer home the final nail.

In the end, they were found wanting in one of the key areas that has helped them dominate the rest of the world in recent years - their spin bowling.

Leg-spinner Shane Warne, just back from a broken finger, failed to come close to matching Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh's 32 wickets in the series.

Warne managed a mere 10 at over 50 runs apiece and never recovered after conceding 152 off 34 overs in the second innings of the second test.

In Madras, after taking two for 140 in the first innings, he was thrashed for 41 runs off six humiliating, wicketless overs in the second.

"He's not used to those sort of figures but you have to give the batsmen credit, particularly (Vangipurappu) Laxman, who played him superbly," shrugged Waugh.

"He can't do it every time."

- REUTERS