India was Australia's Ashes? Really?

So claims Hayden anyway. Read this interview where he talks about the actual Ashes, how "God" in the form of an errant Duke ball played a significant part, and also about India. One small part of me was chuffed to read how important the India tour of 2004 was to Hayden and the Aussies - it really was a mission for them, surely the Final Frontier. They did remarkably well against an Indian team that was probably playing from memory of two remarkable series (Aus 2003-04 and Pak 2004). I was intrigued to check out Hayden's averages for the series - just 30 with one 50, a far cry from his previous India visit in 2001 where he became Matt the Bat. So for him to rate the 2004 series as one of the best memories speaks volumes for what it meant to the Aussies. So that accounts for the chuffed bit.

Of course the other larger part of me couldn't help but think how we have slid as a Test side since the 2004 Pak tour. Many in the team probably thought in their minds that a draw in Australia and a win in Pak meant mission accomplished. Aus came much better prepared than ever before, board politics raised its ugly head during that series, and perhaps that was the beginning of the end of the Ganguly-Wright era. This triple whammy hastened the slide, which we haven't recovered from. An unpardonable series draw against Pak at home and a loss away, and an unbelievable series draw against England B means that we are now miles away from being the Test squad that Hayden and the Aussies so respected and wanted to beat. Heck, we are not even a strong force at home these days!

Sure, the ODI revival is very commendable. The team looks young and refreshed, and we have enough utility players to be serious contenders for the World Cup, the ONLY ODI tournament that really matters, to me anyway. Test match victories are the real thing - they last longer in memory and are especially sweet when achieved overseas. Adelaide 2003, Sydney 2004, Pak 2004, Headingley - these moments are what give me the buzz, of course along with WC South Africa 2003. I was too young when India last won a Test series outside the subcontinent ('86 England) - so I desperately hope and pray that we get back to the Summer of 2004, when we were really Australia's Ashes!