Briefly speaking, the Australia-Pakistan match at Brisbane will keep Test cricket dressed up to the nines. Indians will do well to forget about their triumph over the Kiwis if they have to match the fiercely competitive nature of the Aussies before clashing with familiar foes, Pakistan. A trip Down Under is by far the most enjoyable provided you play healthy and lively cricket.My personal experience tells me that anybody who returns from Australia sulking and with a long face can only blame himself. Both on and off the field, Australian cricket has a lot to offer to the first-timer. And there are quite a few under Tendulkar's command.My apprehensions concern the selection of the playing XI. Playing at home can never be easy when the selectors must make their presence mandatory. I can never figure out the mere travelling of Sunil Joshi with the Indian squad. If that wasn't enough of a torture, Kumble's request for rest has been granted and he is replaced by another left-armer Gyanendra Pandey. All Iwish to say on this count is that no morality can be founded on authority, even if the authority were divine.Also, I strongly feel, there is still time for our selectors to reconsider Mongia. Without being too harsh on `MSK,' I shudder to think how the technically unsound man behind the stumps will spur on the limited Indian attack on Aussie wickets.If comparisons are odious, what about contrasts? English language has this wonderful knack of juxtaposing words and phrases to create analogies which decide little. But they can make one feel at home. Not always though.We are following international cricket in three continents Australia, Africa and Asia. Also, per force we are made to scan the briefs of Indian domestic cricket, which seems to be in a perennial rut. But who cares? As long as sub-standard international matches can fill the BCCI's coffers and a gullible Indian public made more lethargic than it already is, the opium effect of the willow game on our masses is just about complete.However,the acid test for Indian cricket is not far. Soon, Indians will join Australia and Pakistan to find out for themselves the difference between chalk and cheese. Cricket in Australia has always been from the top bracket. Big league is the right term. Without taking anything away from India's dominance over the Black Caps, even the most ardent admirer of India's super heroes would concede that the New Zealanders exhausted all their physical and mental resources in three Tests. For the one-dayers, the New Zealanders are hopelessly under-motivated. A spate of injuries hasn't helped. I am sure the visitors would be far eager to return home.It would not be fair to expect the New Zealanders to understand the vagaries of playing in far off places where even the home players are complaining of lack of proper facilities.Let us face it, cricket can be fun only if you are on the winning side. So far the visitors were in their elements only in the first one-dayer. There has been a distinct drop in their involvementafter that. The tour itinerary too has not helped. It is absurd when the players are made to travel more than six hours from Hyderabad to Gwalior.-Bishan Singh Bedi
