It's All Over: Australian Cricket's Time at The Top Has Finally Come To an End.

By now, even the most fervent Aussie cricket fan must be able to see the writing on the wall. The number one spot in international cricket now belongs to either South Africa or India – it doesn’t really matter – it just isn’t Australia.

The dynasty that began with Allan Border, was built by Mark Taylor and reinforced by Steve Waugh has crumbled on the watch of Ricky Ponting. Not that he is entirely to blame, but as skipper, the buck stops with him.

It was always going to be a difficult task, keeping Australiaat the top of the pile after the departure of Shane Warne and Glen McGrath. The Aussies became a victim of their own success. With a roster of strong, consistent performers, change came very infrequently and left the selectors with few experienced options when they eventually became needed.

The slow, inexorable slide to mediocrity didn’t become immediately apparent after the departure of the two bowling greats. The Aussies first came up against a disinterested Sri Lanka,  a nation that eschews test cricket these days, and followed up by winning the first two tests against an underprepared India, the second victory being the infamous Sydney test.

But that was the end of the line. The Aussies lost the third test against India and have only beaten the West Indies and New Zealand since. They have remained competitive, but too frequently allowed themselves to be outplayed at crucial points within a game – witness day 3 of the Boxing Day test against South Africa.

Australia are no longer feared on the cricket pitch. Sides now know that the Aussies can be beaten, that the bluster and verbal intimidation has no teeth to back it up. Sure, their batting line-up is still the equal of any side still playing, but they seem incapable of bowling good sides out twice in 5 days.

Top that with a slow and unimaginative captain and you have a team on the slide. Contrasting Ponting’s captaincy against that of Graeme Smith reveals the vast gulf between what captaincy should be and what the Aussies have had to put up with since Steve Waugh retired.

Ponting allowed South Africato build their total from the deep trouble of 7/198 to be all out for 459 with an improbable 65 run lead. It’s certainly true that Ponting’s options were limited with an injured Brett Lee but, while he is certainly a high quality bowler, there is no way Dale Steyn should have scored 76 runs. Dropped and missed catches, penalty runs from the ball hitting an unused helmet, friendly field settings allowing easy singles. Imagine that happening with Steve Waugh at the helm.

The rest of the world will no doubt rejoice at the Aussie fall from grace, starting with the South Africans as they have just won their first ever series on Aussie soil. 15 years at the top is an awful long time and no doubt others will want their turn. Australia will still end the season on top of the points table, but that is of little consequence. The crown has been set down and India and South Africa can fight it out to see who will eventually claim it.

Let’s just hope the Aussies are able to retain the Ashes, losing the number one spot is one thing, losing the Ashes, however, would be a pain far too difficult to bear.