Australia’s aura of ‘vincibility’ makes victory far sweeter, writes Robert Craddock

While they’re not the finished product, Australia at last has a cricket team it can cheer for without feeling mixed emotions, writes Robert Craddock.

Justin Langer has turned the Australian team into a likeable side. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images).

• SLEDGE: You can’t seriously like him as a bloke

• RATINGS: Who starred and flopped for India?

• RATINGS: How the Australians fared in Perth

Australia at last has a cricket team it can cheer for without feeling mixed emotions.

Tim Paine’s men are not the finished product.

They have soft spots and will lose plenty of Tests but in a strange sort of way this makes their victory over India all the more meritorious.

When you have an average top six like Australia does you get nothing for free. Wins are harvested with a chisel rather than a chainsaw.

Justin Langer and Tim Paine have turned the Australian team into a likeable side. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

The dressing room is in a perpetual state of anxiety. Matches ebb and flow. Today’s swagger is tomorrow’s stumble. You rarely dominate Tests and your aura is one of “vincibility’’ with no “in’’ in front of it.

But it’s compelling viewing.

The temptations is to say the SS Australia is turning around but it could easily do a full circle and lose the next Test in Melbourne.

But that’s the fun of this team.

Much of the Australian team fought hard to earn their spot. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

You’ve got no idea what’s coming next.

Australia’s win over India contained some spicy exchanges between Virat Kohli and Tim Paine but there was no sense that we were going to revisit the horrible, degrading sledging tactics and bully boy tactics of recent seasons.

Australia does not want a Choirboy XI nor a Wild Dog XI - just a group who will have a red hot go.

A jubilant Pat Cummins celebrates securing the final wicket. Picture: William West

The win will be celebrated with great gusto but the more significant achievement is simply in having been a hard team to subdue in 10 days of robust Test match combat with the game’s No 1 team.

New coach Justin Langer’s first ask of this team was to be a tough team to roll. You cannot climb Mt Everest in a day but you can dig your pick into the cliff wall, hold your ground and insist you are not going anywhere. Before you can rise you have to stop falling.

That is what they have done.

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Most of the Australia team - particularly the batsmen - have had to work extremely hard for what they have achieved.

Marcus Harris left Western Australia for Victoria with a career average of 28.

Usman Khawaja has been in and out of the team many times. Aaron Finch lives with a cloud over his head.

Peter Handscomb’s technique has been picked apart more times than global warming.

And Paine himself has had seven finger operations in as many years.

He is the best story of the lot, proving that anything is possible if you just keep hanging in there.

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