Berlin: Former Australian cricket captain Steve Waugh has told Gulf News that Australia will probably never regain their dominance over world cricket.
Speaking from Berlin, where Waugh was on official duty with the Laureus Academy on a three-day forum last week, Waugh said of Australia's drop in dominance over the game, "I don't think anyone will ever get that back."
"We're still working hard and still have a very good side but expectations have probably got to be dropped down a little bit from the public."
The Ozzies twice set the record for consecutive test wins with 16 victories between 1999-2001 and again between 2005 and 2008 plus topped the ICC Test World Rankings for 73 months from June 2003 to July 2009.
But Waugh can't see it happening again for any team. "The game is so different now with almost separate teams in T20, ODIs and Test cricket. I don't think anyone can really say they're going to dominate world cricket going forward it's such a big task."
Similar teams
"Other sides have also found a way to get up there. There's probably four or five teams that are very similar at the moment. I don't see it changing in the near future — it [the rankings] will probably chop and change a fair bit."
Asked if Australia's lost grip on the game was down to the void left by players such Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne, Waugh said: "No, everyone's replaceable. We can't keep saying we wish we could still have these players they're gone and we've got to move on."
The forthcoming Ashes Series starts in Brisbane on Thursday.
Do you agree with Waugh's prediction? Was he the greatest Australian skipper in the post-Brandon era?
