Rainbow appears on the horizon from Down Under

The Australian team for the World Cup for the under-19 has no Brett Lees or Adam Gilchrists. But their young team reflects the rich cultural...

The Australian team for the World Cup for the under-19 has no Brett Lees or Adam Gilchrists. But their young team reflects the rich cultural diversity of their country. Their players are from different origins – Portugese, Greek, Lankan and Filipino – each one of them representated by a player in the Australian team.

The Australian team manger Brian Feedman is however proud of the unity in his team and says the situation is similar to that prevailing in Indian team. ‘‘There is unity in diversity in Australia too. We’re now like a typical Indian team,’’says Feedman. In fact the most exciting player and the youngest member of the team – Moises Henriques was born in Portugal. The 16-year-old Henriques is an all-rounder who bowls fast and a big hitter with the bat.

Henrique’s family migrated to Australia when he was two and his cricketing talent were honed at St George’s Club in Sydney – the same club, which the Don had also played for.

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The pillar of the team is from Sri Lankan origin – Ahillen Beadle, who is a left-handed all-rounder is 17-year-old and the entire team looks upto him in crisis. Besides, there is the 18-year-old Theo Doropoulos, also an all-rounder from Western Australia. He was born to Greek parents but is known in the team for showing typical Australian grit and fighting spirit. Freedman says, ‘‘This lad is for future. We’re keenly watching his development.’’ The team has two players – vice captain Callum Ferguson and Scott Coyte – who have already played in the first class cricket. Unlike in India, there are only 66 players playing in the Australian domestic cricket which has only six teams. In only his second first class game, Ferguson hit a signpost which earned him 50,000 Australian dollar.

The team’s captain is Tim Paine who is a highly-rated hard-hitting wicket-keeper batsman. Gilchrist may soon some have competition for his place in the national team. Josh Mangan is a leg-spinner of Shane Warne’s mould if not class. Mangan, 17-year-old from Victoria, has modeled himself on Warne’s style taking tips from the Great Australian leg-spinner. Josh even imitates Warne’s mannerisms on the field. The Aussies boys are here in India to acclimatize themselves to the conditions for the World Cup in Bangladesh. In the previous World Cup held in New Zealand in 2002, the Australians were unbeaten and they hope to repeat their form.