Aussies already play fair. Australians taught the rest of the cricket world the meaning of "fair". Fair means playing by the rules set out for everyone (that's also Ricky Ponting's definition), and as has been stated, the rules already cover sledging. Have no fear, however: while it certainly won't stop Australians from sledging as they have always done, it's the BCCI calling for a total ban so there will be a total ban.

Australia do seem to have a knack for dropping dead rubbers, and I'm at a loss as to why. They claim they do not take their foot off the pedal after winning a series, and this is partly borne out by them fielding their strongest available side in the last ODI and the result of their most recent Test series.

yoyoma, after the way he's been treated, and the way he's made India pay for that treatment, Symonds is entitled to say anything he likes about India's over-the-top celebrations after the T20 circus. I thought Indian fans knew their cricket pretty well. This is why I - and possibly Symonds too - find it perplexing they couldn't put the T20 result into perspective without first being crushed by the ACTUAL world champions of cricket.

This is like talking to a kindergarten student. ibtisam, you're getting it wrong again. Why do you constantly live in denial? It was Pakistan, NOT PAKISTAN 'A', which was bowled out so cheaply by Australia five years ago. 'A' sides do not play Tests. I'm happy for you that you are able to take comfort in Pakistan's performance during the T20 circus, because South Africa is soundly beating Pakistan in REAL cricket.

callmenuts, making such comments only reflects poorly on your own intelligence.

yoyoma, Symonds can say whatever he likes about India's over-the-top celebrations for getting lucky in a 20-over circus after the way he's been treated and the way he has made India pay for such treatment. It's a cultural thing - sub-continent behaviour when celebrating or lamenting their cricket teams' performance is quite unfathomable from an Australian perspective. Symonds is on record saying T20 is an unimportant novelty which his team does not take seriously.

callmenuts, I said that being captain of Australia was more prestigious, I did not say it was a higher honour. That you could make such a childish comment reflects poorly on your own level of intelligence.

No, it was a Test match in which Pakistan was bowled out for 59 and 53 by Australia. It was not Pakistan A ('A' sides cannot play Test matches), it was Pakistan, which set a new record for being bowled out for a low score, and then beat that record in the very next innings! Matthew Hayden made 119 in that match, outscoring the combined total of Pakistan's two innings. As usual, you are wrong and have nowhere to hide Pakistan's continuing failure at the elite level of cricket.

438/9, I think a few reasons behind Australia's success are pretty self-evident. There's no doubt that just like the West Indies side of the 1980s, Australia has been fortunate to have a wealth of unique talent come together at the right time (don't forget that some of that talent is now gone and more will soon follow). Apart from that, Australia covers all the basics with considerable diligence. The team's training resources and facilities are second-to-none, no expense is spared. The team's work and fitness ethic (with the possible exception of Warnie and Boof when they were still playing) is exceptional - I strongly doubt there is any team that trains as hard or for as long as the Australians. Individual achievement is subordinated to team achievement. Initial success resulted in public support and expectation not seen since the days of The Don, as well as a strong sense of self-belief among players that they can - and probably should - win every game they play. I can only imagine that opposition teams find this self-belief to be more intimidating than anything else. Except maybe for tennis during the Australian Open, there is no domestic sport that can come close to competing with international cricket's popularity during the Australian summer. The domestic first-class and List-A competitions, while poorly attended and rarely televised, remain of a high quality (based on only six teams) and there are programs and mechanisms for recognising and nurturing new talent - Mitchell Johnson was spotted by Dennis Lillee almost 10 years ago, for example. I think one of the biggest factors has been long-term planning, something the other major cricket countries seem to lack. This started in the days of Allan Border's captaincy and Bob Simpson's stint as national coach after we hit the bottom of the barrell in 1984-85 - it was decided we would never sink that low again.

Strauss has the results under his belt while Flintoff looked lost as captain while touring Australia - it's only fair to say the under-preparation and injuries and Ashley "the-worst-selection-in-Ashes-history" Giles weren't his fault but there were still some match-losing errors on Freddie's part, the Aussies didn't have it all their own way. What a tremendous cricketer, it will be great for the game in England and globally if the big bloke can get back to his best like 2005, take the leadership pressure off him and he may just do that. Hope it's a tight series, but I reckon the Poms will take it 2-1 or 2-0 or better if Steve Harmison hits form too. So happy to see some real cricket again after that fiasco pyjama party in the Windies.