Australia v India, First Test: Why Australian fast bowling no longer scares anyone

Shane Warne could stare a hole through a bank vault, and Glenn McGrath refused to get close to opposition players. But now, the ‘nice’ Australian side doesn’t scare anyone.

The trouble with being a “nice’’ cricket team is you don’t scare anyone.

This is the central reason why the Australian team has lost its secret weapon – its aura of intimidation.

And we are not just talking about the absence of Australia’s traditional weapon – sledging.

In the old days, English players used to say that even before he opened his mouth, Shane Warne’s intimidation started with his eyes.

He would stand near-motionless at the top of his mark, flick the ball from hand to hand, and give the batsman a stare that would burn a hole in a bank vault, radiating the vibe “sorry champ … I have got your number.’’

Do Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins have the same aura as bowling attacks gone by? Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

Then there was Glenn McGrath, who would deliberately keep his distance from rival players because he never wanted them to truly know him.

Frequently they would ask other Australian players “what’s McGrath like?’’ His solitude unnerved them.

That Australian team had an invisible aura that rattled opposition teams even before they had faced a ball.

It’s gone now. A few of the former greats in Perth quietly pine for more sizzle in the sauce. We get it. You don’t have to play the ugly Australian nor a Methodist Minister in whites – there is a middle ground.

*READ MORE: HOW T20 SENT SLEDGING ON ITS WAY*

By necessity, Australia shed its bad boy ways after the global shaming of Sandpapergate.

It wasn’t just the sandpaper incident that prompted the change. There was a bad edge to a lot of their conduct.

Another factor behind the cultural shift is the advent of the mega-rich Indian Premier League auction means no player wants to be seen by Indian talent scouts as an irritating force.

One cheap sledge could have a million dollar fallout.

Given the Indian Premier League auction was placed in the middle of the first Test in Perth there was as much chance of an Australian player having a major fall out with India as there was of Kevin Rudd restarting his war with Donald Trump.

Some toes just aren’t worth treading on.

Then there’s the fact that the players know each other so well now by playing in the IPL that it genuinely is hard to get angry with each other.

Australia’s niceness in Perth even extended to the lack of a plan to pepper the Indians with short pitched bowling, surely worth a try when nothing else was working.

There were days when Indian players would never contemplate stirring up their Australian rivals for fear of copping some heavy fire back but the fear factor has receded to the point where they are now prepared to give even more than they get.

Young batting superstar Yashasvi Jaiswal taunted Mitchell Starc by saying he was bowling “too slow’’ and dared Marnus Labuschagne to run him out.

Back in India Starc is seen as a mentor to Kolkata Knight Riders teammate Harshit Rana who fearlessly bounced Starc who retorted with “I am faster than you. And I have a long memory.’’

The youngster’s response was to hit Starc in the helmet a few balls later.

This is the new India. Young. Confident. Aggressive. Fearless.

Harshit has no fear of Starc because he has sat beside him on team buses, at restaurants and in the breakfast room.

Familiarity has bred comfort and confidence which, for Australia, is a major worry and a significant reason why India are winning so often in Australia.

Originally published as Australia v India, First Test: Why Australian fast bowling no longer scares anyone