Law of averages? No thanks! We are Australian!
The Australians have the advantage of being the world's best team, at the moment. On field, they have been consistent and are known to deliver the goods. Off field, they are media savvy and have great people management skills.
Sanjay Jha, Co founder and Managing Editor, Cricketnext, explains, "There is no team that can beat the Australians in terms of their track record right now. They have been dominating world cricket for the last 6 years, ever since they won the World Cup successively in 1999 and 2003. It is difficult to see an assembly of such great performers in any other team, which may have one lone star like in the case of West Indies and Brian Lara."
" This Indian fascination for Australian cricketers was really triggered off by Steve Waugh's statement that the Australians had to conquer the final frontier, namely India!" observes Prashant Singh, Business head, Fresh Brew Communications, "That statement went on to create one of the biggest rivalries of our times: namely India and Australia. The other reason for the sudden interest in Indo-Australia matches was the fact that internationally, Indo- Pak matches were not being played for sometime and the Ashes was becoming a one sided game. In India and Australia, you had two world class teams, which were pitted against each other. In fact, apart from Pakistanis, the Aussies are probably ‘the coolest foreigners’ for most Indians. Today, Indo-Aussie matches are in the same league as Indo-Pak series: namely the Category A matches, which are subject to higher rates for ad spots and on ground signage because such matches justify the spends Aussies embody values like aggression and competitiveness, which appeal to a cricket hungry nation like India. So how important a market is India for the Aussies? Neil Maxwell, Brett Lee's manager, observes, "I think the Indian market will play an important role more in the future than what it is doing today for Australians. Brett Lee is a straightforward cricketer and if you don't mind me saying so, he is also a very good looking bloke. All these factors work for him in
terms of his appeal in the Indian market.More...