Indian captain Virat Kohli does the impossible and makes us like and respect the Aussie team again
Yeah, OK, he’s Indian, but Test captain Virat Kohli deserves to be named Australian of the Year for doing the impossible – making us like and respect the Australian team again, writes Greg Davis
Cricket
Don't miss out on the headlines from Cricket. Followed categories will be added to My News.
INDIANS FIGHT:‘I will shove your anger up your arse’
FIGHTING SPIRIT:Aussies won’t be walked over
BBL SUPERCOACH:Sign up now!
Ladies and Gentleman, it is with great pleasure that we present Mr Virat Kohli – your 2019 Australian of the Year.
Sure, Tim Paine’s banter bunny is an Indian citizen (which could be a slight complication according to the award’s criteria) but there’s no doubt that Kohli has achieved the near impossible for our great nation.
He’s got us to like and respect the Australian cricket team again.
A small army of marketing and PR types would have made a fortune in the past 10 months after the awful “Sandpaper-gate’’ affair in South Africa, trying to rebuild the team’s damaged brand.
They were on the nose but it was a long time coming as the team was becoming increasingly unlikeable with David Warner the posterchild for the – at best – indifference – and at worst – embarrassment and fury.
Shaun Marsh gets his fifty, rewarding the unwavering faith the Australian public have always had in him. #AUSvIND
— Titus O'Reily (@TitusOReily) December 10, 2018
Kicking the Australian cricket team when it was down became a national sport – just look on social media when a Marsh brother comes out to bat.
But as soon as Captain Yappy started kicking sand in our face ... well, that was it. We drew a line in said sand.
It’s OK for us to have a crack at the Aussies but as soon as someone else does, then it’s a case of “whoa, whoa, whoa, easy there Tiger. Pull your head in, champ’’.
Kohli’s behaviour at the end of Day 3 and the start of Day 4 in Perth was appalling. It is irrelevant how good a player he is, that was rubbish.
You cannot run in between deliveries and bark at opposition players like he did. You cannot run into a spot that is in the direct line of the batsmen running between the wickets, like he did.
He called it banter. But it was bullying.
And it was the worst kind of cowardly bullying because it was done in the knowledge that the Aussies had both arms tied behind their back given the spotlight on their behaviour.
If any Australian carried on like that, they would be crucified but Kohli is untouchable.
The hypocrisy is as mind-boggling as it is infuriating.
The ICC, match referees and umpires simply won’t pull him up and they should be ashamed of that lack of action. It’s a joke.
But Paine wasn’t copping it. He stood tall and owned the multi-millionaire motor mouth with some genuinely funny verbal shots, gritty batting and outstanding captaincy.
Kohli picked a fight with the wrong little Tassie scrapper. The kind of scrapper with the diploma from the school of hard knocks that we love as a sporting nation.
We rallied around Paine and his boys because they did what we need to see in our cricket team – they fought the good fight. They dug in, battled and got the job done with tough, hard cricket.
They managed to shut Kohli up in a performance to be proud of as Paine showed why he is the captain we need.
Kohli is one of the greatest batsman to ever wield the willow – just ask him – but he wants this series victory so badly that he is in danger of losing the plot.
His players are arguing with each other, his openers can’t hit it off the square, they can’t clean up our wagging tail and they have injury dramas as well.
They are under the pump heading into the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne but India could very well still win this series with Kohli to the fore.
The Aussie top order is still very brittle and you worry about the workload being put on the fabulous bowling quartet in a rapid-fire four-Test series.
But whether or not Australia reclaims the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Paine and his troops have given us a national cricket team we can like, respect and can cheer for again.
And that’s a very big win.
Thankyou for that Virat.
Thankyou.
Every Test, ODI, T20I, and BBL match live. SIGN UP NOW!
Originally published as Indian captain Virat Kohli does the impossible and makes us like and respect the Aussie team again
Allan Border: Why it’s really time for the Gabba to go
He’s known for his resilience on the pitch but Allan Border has had to fight several battles off it too, all uncovered in his sit down with Crash Craddock. WELCOME TO HIGH STEAKS
How the ‘spin sisters’ can help Australia win the T20 World Cup
All eyes will be on the pace duo of Tayla Vlaeminck and Darcie Brown, who have been named in the same World Cup squad for the first time, but it’s Australia’s spinners who are set to be the envy of the competition.