Ashes series could be replaced as Aussies reaffirm love for 'woke' Test cricket team
Has Australia v India become bigger than the Ashes series?
OPINION
The compelling and controversial Boxing Day Test has proven – or just re-affirmed – one thing: the Australian men's cricket team continues to be the one that means the most to the majority of us. It's care factor 10. Other national teams flash in and out of public consciousness depending on how they're performing, but our cricketers are our sporting centrepiece.
The Matildas were the sweethearts of a nation during last year's World Cup. The Socceroos are one of the only teams to get Australians out of bed at 1am to congregate in front of a giant screen in the middle of winter.
We cheer our Olympians at the Games before largely forgetting them for the next four years. While our netballers, basketballers, female cricketers and - occasionally - the Wallabies gives us reason to stick our chest out. The Kangaroos mean a lot to a few and Australian rules appears to have given up on its joke of an international game, but the fourth Test at the MCG showed cricket will always be king.
Cricket remains the No.1 sport in Australia
They may be too "woke" – the most overused and mismanaged word in the English language - for some, but no side is discussed, dissected, disembowelled or debated about more than the men who stand under the baggy green. Everyone has an opinion and record crowds (and television audiences) have tuned in to watch this Border-Gavaskar series.
People changed or delayed social appointments to ensure they didn’t miss a minute of the Melbourne Test. Forced outings were restricted to lunch or tea breaks.
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One mate took his laptop to the beach and set up Kayo until his battery died. Another bloke I've known for over 30 years – who never talks sport – rang at the start of day five to discuss how it might play out.
In shopping centres, pubs, cafes, we all wanted to talk cricket. What do we do with Mitch Marsh? Should Australia have declared its fourth innings overnight? Is Jasprit Bumrah the best fast bowler to visit these shores? How good is Sam Konstas? Are Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli washed up?
Has the Border-Gavaskar Trophy actually replaced the Ashes?
Channel 7's morning programs had a countdown clock in place to inform of us when the first ball was due – as if we needed reminding. The final day lived up to the hype as two magnificent teams went at it right until the last hour.
England and the Ashes have traditionally been the tentpole series for Australians, but there's an argument to suggest the Border-Gavaskar trophy now supplants it. The way India plays its cricket and the noise and colour its fans bring to the contest has taken this rivalry to a new level.
Does beating India mean more to Australians than seeing off the Poms? We may have our answer by this time next year after England's Bazball circus has toured the country. Until then, bring on the Sydney Test.
