Australia's decline temporary, says Lara

Brian Lara has called Australia's dip in form temporary, and feels the team is sure to bounce back strongly. Lara, who is in Melbourne for the ICC Super Series, drew a parallel between Australia's recent fall and the decline of West Indies cricket in the 1980s.

"Of course, there are similarities," said Lara, who played in the West Indies' most recent series win against Australia, in 1992-93. Among the similarities was the average age of the Windies players in the '90s, especially that of players like Malcolm Marshall and Viv Richards. Several others also retired at the same time. "Australia, their top players [such as] Shane Warne, Ricky Ponting and Glenn McGrath all seem to be in their 30s," Lara was quoted as saying by The Sydney Morning Herald .

He did indicate, however, that Australia were in a better position to bounce back. "But the one thing they do have in their favour that the West Indies didn't have is the technology and the academies," Lara said. "We [the West Indies] never put anything into place to ensure there was some sort of longevity with our success. Australia still has the infrastructure to play good cricket and I don't think their decline is going to be anything close to [that of] the West Indies. I see [Australia] bouncing back pretty quickly."

Lara pointed to advancing age of key players as a significant factor in a team's natural decline. "You need to ensure that you've got players who are going to carry the team over a period of time," he said. "If your best players are starting to get beaten, then there is a worry. You need to start looking at the younger ones and maybe a transitional period of one or two years."

But then, Lara said Australia should take heart in the quality of its young cricketers. "But the likes of Michael Clarke and [Shane] Watson - you've still got very good players to depend on. I don't think, from what I've seen in Australia over the last 15 years coming here, that Australia has any great worry about any major decline in their cricket."