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Seven up and looking for eight

After the Melbourne Test, I caused something of a controversy by suggesting that this Australian side was good enough to be compared with any Australian XI of previous generations. When I made that statement, I was thinking about the confidence we currently have, the great team spirit, the manner in which we support each other, and the way in which, if one guy falters, the next man inevitably steps up to right the ship.

Perhaps the legendary Australian teams of days gone by could beat us for pure talent, but surely none could outdo us in the camaraderie stakes?

Now, having completed a remarkable summer of Test cricket, I see no reason to change my view. This is as close and as committed a Test team as any I have played with. And we showed again, here in Sydney, by our sustained attack on Day One and then by the way we battled hard, always aggressive, after losing two early wickets in our innings, how good we can be.

And then, I'm proud to say we demonstrated a newfound feature of our make-up today, by grinding our opponents into the SCG dust. In seasons gone by, we had developed a frustrating habit of losing 'dead' matches - in England at The Oval in 1993 and 1997, and against the Poms again at the MCG last year; against the West Indies in Perth in 1996-97; against South Africa at Centurion Park in early 1997. However, this summer, against Pakistan and now India, we have decisively turned 2-0 series leads into clean sweeps, a fact that suggests a new 'ultra-hardness' in Australian cricket, a fact I enjoy.

Today's win pushed our record to seven Test victories in a row, leaving us just one more triumph away from equalling the Australian record set by Warwick Armstrong's great side of 1920-21. To get that eighth win, we will need to be at our best against New Zealand, who will be coming off a contest with the West Indies when they were clearly the dominant team.

The final day of this series was highlighted by some magnificent batting, by Justin Langer, Ricky Ponting and Adam Gilchrist, and then by VVS Laxman, who belted us all over the park while playing what might even have been the Test innings of the season. But through all his magnificent shots, Glenn McGrath was superb, completing the second10-for performance of his Test career, a feat made even more pleasurable for him because it occurred on his home ground.

One of the most encouraging features of this summer has been the way in which men such as Langer, Ponting, Gilchrist, Damien Fleming and, lately, Brett Lee have stepped up and made major contributions to our effort. In my view, we now have side that could remain at the forefront of world cricket right through the first decade of the 21st century. Long after I'm gone, I think the Australian XI will be a dominant force in the world game.

So now we get a couple of unexpected but gratefully accepted days off, before the one-day series begins in earnest on Sunday in Brisbane. We know the pressure will be right on us, as reigning World Cup champions and because both our opponents in the competition will be keen for some revenge after the Test matches. But we remain confident and well prepared.

Perhaps I should be tired, and looking for a break, after what has been a relentless period of cricket since we left for Sri Lanka back in mid-August. But now is such an exciting time to be playing cricket for Australia, let alone leading this team into battle, I'm eager and ready for the challenges that lie ahead.

Gameplan

Steve Waugh