Convict Cricket

Australia has produced the World's greatest ever cricket team, the World's best batsmen and arguably the World's best spin and pace bowlers. Furthermore, an Australian man, Kerry packer, revolutionized cricket and in so doing, positioned it so that the cricket World Cup is now the World's third biggest sporting event.

Yet despite these impressive achievements, the Australian cricket team has never been able to shake off it's Convict tag. Prior to each ashes tour, English cartoonists depict the Australian team arriving in chains. During the 1999 World Cup, Ajurna Rantaunga, the Sri Lankan cricket captain, said of Australians:

" We come from 2,500 years of culture and we all know where they come from"

Perhaps the Convict taunts persist because the Ashes series was inspired by the embarrassment the English felt after they were beaten by a team descended from their rejects. Of course, another reason may be that the behaviour of the Australian cricket fan does seem to indicate Australian culture is indeed, morally and physically degenerate.

	The Convict stain that haunts Australia's cricketers.
	The bodyline series.
	Kerry Packer's revolution.
	The morally degenerate Australian.
	The colourful Australian player
	The foundations of Australian cricket

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