The Stars: The Australian 2003 World Cup One-day Cricket team
Synopsis:
This one for the cricket buffs or a sports fan who wants to see how good a team can be at their chosen sport. The DVD opens with Darren Lehmann hitting the winning runs to clinch the 1999 World Cup to remind us of the pressure the Aussies were under as defending champions. It follows each and every match they played throughout the tournament focussing on the efforts of the boys but occasionally showing some highlights for the other sides.
I had watched a fair bit of these games on pay TV so it was interesting to go back over the games to see if my memory served me well (it didn’t do too badly!). We are taken through the qualifying stages where the Aussies beat everyone in their pool, through the Super Sixes stages where they beat everyone and on to the Semi-Final and Grand Final where they are ultimately victorious.
There are a host of records the Aussies set along the way and we get to see a little of all of them. We start with the highest ever (at that stage) World Cup score. It was made against the Pakistanis on the back of a brilliant innings from Andrew Symonds. While not a record, the slower ball Gillespie bowled to Tendulkar in the second pool match is a testament to the fast bowler’s capacity for thought, something generally believed far beyond the men who run in and pound the ball down at such pace. The good bowling by the Dutch in their pool match against the Aussies was another highlight, although it did not save them from defeat.
Grant Flower managed to get himself run out off a no-ball in the Zimbabwe, a cardinal sin for even old park cricketers like me. After a fearsome assault with the bat by Andy Blignaut, you don’t have to be much of a lip-reader to understand what Brett Lee said as he took one of the best caught and bowled catches I have ever seen. Then against the Namibians Darren Lehmann hit an incredible 28 off the last over to set a World Cup record before Glenn McGrath set another one for best ever bowling by taking 7 for 15. The Poms got off to a flier but then Andy Bichel claimed 7 for 20 to give us some hope, finishing the task with the bat by hitting one of the biggest sixes ever on the way to helping get us past the England total.
In the Super Sixes we pummelled the Sri Lankans, making 5 for 317, another record, then got out of jail against the Kiwis when Shane Bond had us on the ropes, taking 6 for 23. Lee took a hat-trick against the Kenyans to set up an easy victory to settle the positions for the finals. A convincing, even under the Duckworth-Lewis method, but rain-interrupted Semi-Final win against the Sri Lankans set up the Grand Final.
The GF was pure joy to Aussie cricket fans as we made 2 for 359 (a record), with Ponting and Martin sharing a record 234 run stand. I still marvel at some of the shots Ponting managed to hit out of the ground on his way to a well-deserved ton. The run chase was over almost before it started with Tendulkar falling in the first over. While the Indians did the best they could they were never in the hunt and Australia won convincingly yet again, hoisting the trophy for a record third time.
Summary:
This is a very good documentary-style reprise of the Australian efforts in South Africa. Their dominance of the one-day game was evident throughout and they managed to get themselves out of some pretty big holes along the way. The presentation relies on the Channel Nine commentary and pictures, which does make me wonder why the ABC is putting it out. There are a couple of jarring moments where the screen is darker than necessary for some shots, and the voice-over man reads out that Lee and McGrath got two wickets each when it was really Gillespie and McGrath. Surely they had time to review that bit and re-do it? But Richie Benaud’s dry wit is enough for me - there are a series of Richie “pearls” that make it worthwhile getting the DVD just to hear him. I will be getting this out every so often to remind myself of what a great sporting achievement this was (and to hear Richie!).
Sound: It is pretty good considering they were picking some of it up from the on-field microphones. Otherwise, nothing special.
Extras: There’s a Special Features part where you can watch highlights of the highlights plus scene selection.