Imagine rooting for the Australian cricket team. If you’re Scottish, Welsh or Irish — or Australian obviously — it might not be such a stretch. But for an Englishman, I suspect, it’s nigh on impossible. It would be like supporting Germany in the (football) World Cup. Or yearning for the All Blacks to win the rugby. We invented cricket, after all. And in that particular sphere, Australia is our natural enemy. They burned our bails in 1882 — ‘the Ashes of English cricket’ — and quite properly we have never forgiven them.
But if that’s how you feel — and I really don’t blame you — then you should treat yourself to the marvellous Amazon Prime series The Test: A New Era for Australia’s Team. Not least among its virtues is that it will inure you to the misery of the next occasion the Aussies inevitably thrash us. Sure they might be cocky. Sure, the way they sledge us is appalling. But for all their disgusting and outrageous skill advantage in devious areas like batting, bowling and fielding, you’ll no longer begrudge them the occasional victory because underneath they’re bloody good blokes by whom it’s an honour to be beaten.
The eight-part series begins with the Aussies at their lowest ebb. It’s 2018 and they are mired in the ball-tampering scandal — aka Sandpapergate — which has temporarily cost them their captain Steve Smith, vice-captain David Warner and opener Cameron Bancroft. There are tearful press conferences; walks of shame; once these men were heroes but now they’re the most hated cricket team in the world and there can be no redemption.
Or can there? Enter Justin Langer, a dogged, thin-lipped, haunted-looking former Aussie batsman, drafted in as the new team coach.
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