Australian cricket has lost the services of probably the single greatest cricketer the world has ever known - Shane Warne.

Of course, I expect many to disagree with that bold statement. But even his phenomenal statistics aside, it was Warne's image, his revival of spin bowling, and his sheer impact as a cricketer that led Wisden to pronounce him as one of the greatest cricketers of all time, his 708 Test wickets backing up the accolade.

I remember fondly when Sir Richard Hadlee, a bowler I rate as one of the greatest of all time, passed 400 wickets to eventually retire with 431 - a mark most thought would never be surpassed.

'To lose one world-class player will shake any team. To lose four in the space of a few months was supposed to be the pegging back of this great Australian team'


Three other great players retired from Australian international cricket at a similar time, Glenn McGrath, Justin Langer and Damien Martyn. McGrath finished his career as the greatest Australian fast bowler of all time, and easily one of the top 10 bowlers in the history of the game. Langer, who was one half of the greatest opening partnerships ever seen (Matthew Hayden the other), and Martyn, one of the most graceful players of the modern era.

To lose one world-class player will shake any team. To lose four in the space of a few months was supposed to be the pegging back of this great Australian side.

To be honest, I would actually rate the Australian cricket team as the greatest single sporting team I have ever had the honour to watch. Manchester United at their peak, Michael Schumacher's Ferrari team, the All Blacks and Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls are the greatest teams I have ever watched. But the Australian cricket team possesses players, ability and iron will unlike anything I have ever seen.

In their last 100 Test matches they have won 74 games in the single most equal sporting contest in the world - a game of cricket over five days.

Even after the icons who have retired, they still possess Ricky Ponting, captain and the world's No. 1 batsman, Hayden, Michael Clarke, Adam Gilchrist, Andrew Symonds, Brett Lee and Stuart MacGill - shoe-ins to any international XI.  And let us not forget Michael Hussey, the only man in current Test cricket to have an 80-plus batting average and who scored the second of back-to-back centuries against Sri Lanka on Friday in Hobart.

The Sri Lankans boast a strong batting line-up and feature the only man to compete with Warne as the 'greatest', Muttiah Muralitharan. But the Australians made a mockery of this in the first Test, smashing them by an innings and 40 runs at the Gabba.

India, who are aging but still very strong, are next up for what promises to be an interesting series. They remain with England the only team to have beaten the Australians since mid-2003. But Australia are gunning for their 14th straight Test victory in Hobart, two matches off their own record set by Steve Waugh's incredible team. 

Some people claim that this dominance is bad for the game - but I for one love the aggressive win-at-all-costs attitude of this fantastic sporting side.