Let's talk about that 14-year jinx, Aussies!

When the West Indies arrived in Australia for the 197980 tour their first Test series Down Under after 197576 the one in which they got a 51 shellacking they were constantly reminded of that loss through the media This despite being a highly successful team in Kerry Packerrsquos World Series CricketFootage was often shown of how Dennis Lillee Jeff Thomson and Gary Gilmour destroyed their batting lineup while the Chappell brothers Ian and Greg along with Ian Redpath tore apart their Andy Robertsled bowling attack in 197576In this file photo Australian fast bowler Peter Siddle centre appears frustrated as he walks off the field with captain Michael Clarke left and fellow pacer Ryan Harris during the Oval Test against England in London on August 22 2013 PicGetty ImagesLike they had to do in 1976 when Tony Greig made his famous ldquogrovelrdquo comment Clive Lloydrsquos West Indians had to bear it But like in 1976 his 197980 team ended up grinning and winningAustralia is number one when it comes to vigorous buildups especially when they hold the aces for the next battleThe 2015 Ashes is not far away and the utterances have begun Steven Smith Australiarsquos vicecaptain has already been quoted as saying that England ldquowonrsquot come closerdquo to beating them this summer Skipper Michael Clarke tried to be balanced in his view on the Kevin Pietersen controversy recently and he did But he ended up being headlined for his view on how England is weaker without Kevin PietersenClarke put his Ashes task at hand in true perspective ldquoPlaying away from home is your greatest challenge as an international sporting team and England will be tough because they know their conditions wellrdquoHowever not much is being said about Australiarsquos inability to clinch an Ashes series in England since 2001 Thatrsquos 14 years ago Just imagine how often and hard the Australian media would have ridiculed another team which had not won against Australia in three series For the record Australia failed to clinch the Ashes urn in 2005 2009 and 2013 That Australiarsquos last series win in England was experienced as long ago as the Steve Waugh era is a blot on their socalled formidabilityCoach Darren Lehmann got a double scoop of credit for Australiarsquos 50 win in the last Ashes held in Australia in 201314 but itrsquos probably warped to overly credit him for being the mastermind Point is Australia had the right kind of ammunition to fire and thanks to Pietersenrsquos book we now know more about what was happening in the England campHistory tells us that Australia have lost in England despite having quality sides The 2005 Ashes is a prime exampleAndrew Strauss Englandrsquos new Director of Cricket and one of the batting stars in the summer of 2005 revealed in his autobiography how an accidental aftergolf conversation with then New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming after Australia won the first Test at Lordrsquos by 239 runs helped him to believe that the allconquering Australians could be beaten because the English bowlers had ldquoruffledrdquo some ldquoout of nickrdquo Australian batsmenldquoFrom that point onrdquo Strauss wrote ldquoI felt a renewed sense of purpose as I prepared myself for the second Test matchrdquo Strauss scored 393 runs in the series inclusive of two centuriesAustraliarsquos 2009 loss after the 50 win in 200607 was understandable because they no longer had retirees Shane Warne Glenn McGrath Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist but what happened in 1981 was baffling Just the previous year Australia had whipped their traditional rivals 30 in a series for which the Ashes were not at stake because it was only a threeTest affairWith only Greg Chappell not touring due to family and business reasons the 1981 Australian tourists had Dennis Lillee Rod Marsh Kim Hughes captain and Allan Border But an England side led by the astute Mike Brearley and inspired by the exploits of a certain Ian Terence Botham thrashed them England didnrsquot look back after the BothamWillis show in the third Test at Headingley Marsh said Australia ldquoshould have won that serieshellip no risk We didnrsquot win the series and it was disappointing It was tragic reallyrdquoStrauss is now viewed as a villain for virtually telling Pietersen that he has no future with England because of the England and Wales Cricket Boardrsquos lack of trust with him Itrsquos almost as if Strauss was the gunman ordered to shoot and then the general ECB chairman Colin Graves steps in to justify the act after Pietersen brought up a conversation he had with Graves about his futureFor a batsman of Pietersenrsquos calibre and contribution things could have been handled less brutallyItrsquos moveon time For England and PietersenClayton Murzello is middayrsquos Group Sports Editor