The Final Final Frontier

As we reach the 20th anniversary of the 3rd test in Chennai of that famous 2001 series, its time to wrap up our Final Frontier series.  Our thoughts on the factors behind the slow-build of the Australia v India rivalry, the way that 2001 series entered the public consciousness, and the legacy of the series that continues today.  The Greatest Season That Was Presents is produced by Jay Mueller and edited by Dave Collins. It is part of The Bad Producer Podcast Network.Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/TGSTWSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For many years, the rare Australian cricket tours to India went barely noticed by Australian cricket fans.  Scoreboards and match reports were the most that could be consumed. This mixed with the supposed horror stories that filtered back after the fact from players about  accommodation, food and illness resulted in the perception of an outpost - something that was not as worthy as the iconic and growing rivalries elsewhere. However, legendary cricket writer Mike Coward begged to differ. He embraced India like no other Australian in the cricket fraternity through the 70s and 80s. He saw the nation for its cricket passion, and 30 years ago was moved to wrote the  seminal book ‘Cricket beyond the bazaar’ that put a spotlight on the untold stories of Australia’s battles on the subcontinent, and  foretold the rise of Indian cricket well before Australia and the rest of the world cottoned on.  As we reach the finale of The Greatest Season That Was Presents: Final Frontier, Mike Coward joins us to give the historical backdrop to todays’ great rivalry, and the reasons why it took so long for Australians to appreciate Indian cricket. The Greatest Season That Was Presents is produced by Jay Mueller and edited by Dave Collins. It is part of The Bad Producer Podcast Network.Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/TGSTWSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The amazing turnaround at Kolkata not only had a nation rejoicing, it cemented the India and Australia rivalry forever. This series was now set for a grand finale in Chennai, a test that truly proved to be the icing on the cake of this magnificent series. The man nicknamed after Tone Loc’s hit Funky Cold Medina,  Colin “Funky” Miller was a maverick journeyman in domestic cricket.  But his mid-30s experiment with bowling off spin as a side hustle to his medium pace, resulted in an international career and cult hero status – whether it be with blonde, pink or blue hair.   Colin Miller joins The Greatest Season That Was Presents - The Final Frontier to talk about his journey to international cricket, and the starring role he played in the frantic finale of one of the greatest test series ever. The Greatest Season That Was Presents is produced by Jay Mueller and edited by Dave Collins. It is part of The Bad Producer Podcast Network.Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/TGSTWSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With 16 straight wins in the bank, Australia had the chance to conquer Steve Waugh Final Frontier when they arrived in Kolkata for the 2nd test of 2001. India had been stung by the first test result but by midpoint Australia looked to be realising that dream. Michael Kasprowicz’s performances on the 1998 tour had seen him labelled the India specialist, and he came into that winning side that was aiming to make history. History, however, turned sharply in Kolkata. Michael Kasprowicz joins The Greatest Season That Was Presents - Final Frontier  to tell us about being in the middle on the days that created folklore in Indian cricket, and forever changed the India and Australia rivalry - but also the redemption that was eventually to follow. The Greatest Season That Was Presents is produced by Jay Mueller and edited by Dave Collins. It is part of The Bad Producer Podcast Network.Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/TGSTWSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The 1999-2000 season had seen a more ruthless Australia sweep India 3-0,  a group of fresh stars were added to Steve Waugh’s veterans and the team  had seamlessly gone from arguably the best in the world to a whole new, higher plane. Adam Gilchrist was symbolic of this shift, His impact was immediate and within 12 months he was the national vice captain.  As they flew to India in 2001, the tour was personally and collectively termed the ‘final frontier’ by Steve Waugh – the first test tour he’d been on in 1986 on remained the place he and Australia hadn’t won since . By that stage Gilchrist had played in 14 tests for 14 wins, but as he lined up for the first test in Mumbai he couldn’t have imagined the rollercoaster series that lay ahead both personally and from a team perspective. Subscribe to The Greatest Season That Was Presents to listen to each new episode as it goes live. The Greatest Season That Was Presents is produced by Jay Mueller and edited by Dave Collins. It is part of The Bad Producer Podcast Network.Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/TGSTWSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

1998 had been a rude shock for Australia, but when India returned to Australian in 1999-2000 for the first time in 8 years, there was a similar shock to their system. That new captain Steve Waugh and the new coach John Buchanan had a vision for excellence to motivate the next era Taylor and Healy had just retired, but  the team was about to welcome Adam Gilchrist and Brett Lee into the fold, while others like Justin Langer could finally lock in a long-term spot.  The challenge was set by Buchanan, and it was Damien Fleming in career-best form that said the team should be aiming to win all six tests of the home summer, a unlikely aim at the time. This was a team that wanted to tick off every challenge ahead of them – a return bout to India in the back of Waugh’s mind.   Damien  Fleming joins us to chat about 1999 -2000 and the next chapter of TGSTW presents - The Final Frontier. Subscribe to The Greatest Season That Was Presents to listen to each new episode as it goes live. The Greatest Season That Was Presents is produced by Jay Mueller and edited by Dave Collins. It is part of The Bad Producer Podcast Network.Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/TGSTWSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A 3 test series  in early 1998, was the first full Test series between the India and Australia for 6 years, and the first Australian test series in India since 1986. Shane Warne was fit and touring so the series had the secondary makings of a heavyweight title fight- Sachin v Warne. However there was another great story that didn’t steal any headlines from the main event. Gavin Robertson was a journeyman off spinner who’s played some one day internationals 4 years prior, plucked from the wilderness to be Warne’s spin foil on this much anticipated tour. Gavin Robertson joins us to talk about his unlikely journey to be a running mate in the showdown of cricket’s biggest superstars, the first awakenings by Australian cricketers to the possibilities of India and the start of a rivalry that would capture the public imagination.   Subscribe to The Greatest Season That Was to listen to each new episode as it goes live, but now Gavin Robertson joins us to discuss the building of the rivalry on TGSTW presents - The Final Frontier. The Greatest Season That Was Presents is produced by Jay Mueller and edited by Dave Collins. It is part of The Bad Producer Podcast Network.Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/TGSTWSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As 2020 ticks over to 2021, we sit in the middle of another engrossing Test series between two heavyweights of international cricket – India and Australia. Today, an Australia v India Test series can only be rivalled by the Ashes for prestige, quality of competition, and the level of interest from fans around the world. And that’s without talking about the economics any time the two countries meet. But it wasn’t always like that.   2021 marks twenty years since the famed 2001 Test series between India and Australia, Steve Waugh’s final frontier mission and the extraordinary efforts of a golden generation of Indian cricketers to thwart it.   To recognise this, The Greatest Season That Was presents a new series ‘Final Frontier’. This the story of how the Australia and India rivalry went from strangers to fever pitch in just a few years, and the story of how it was all consummated by the magic of  2001. Over the next few weeks we’ll talk to the players in the middle who defined this new rivalry, but also about how the experience changed perceptions and relationships between the two countries. In this the first episode  we talk to the voice of Indian cricket Harsha Bhogle about how Indian perceived Australian cricket, and the historical touchpoints that had Indian cricket fans ready to embrace this new rivalry by the 90s long before their Australian counterparts understood what the new era of cricket was going to look like. Subscribe to The Greatest Season That Was to listen to each new episode as it goes live, but now Harsha Bhogle joins us to discuss the building of the rivalry on TGSTW presents - The Final Frontier. The Greatest Season That Was Presents is produced by Jay Mueller and edited by Dave Collins. It is part of The Bad Producer Podcast Network.Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/TGSTWSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At the start of 1991, the family club were coming off a season where they had failed to continue in the family tradition, eliminated by Melbourne the previous September to miss their first Grand Final since 1982 - unable to complete a three-peat. As odd as it sounds, their failure to make it to the big one in 1990 sent the club into a tailspin. They had been called too old and too slow in the past – maybe, just maybe, it was now true? When the West Coast Eagles, the new kids on the block, towelled them up at home early into the new campaign alarm bells sounded once more. But sure enough, Michael Tuck’s side got on a roll to finish in second spot on the ladder. Their next mission: a trip across the Nullarbor to take on Mick Malthouse’s hotshots to start one of the most anticipated finals series ever held. All the experience of the battled-hardened Hawks was on display through the month that matters most, overcoming West Coast at Subiaco then just reaching the finish line against Geelong a week later to earn a berth in the Grand Final at VFL Park. The Eagles were now on their territory for the decider. Gary Ayres knows more than most about saving the best for last Saturday in September, twice winning the Norm Smith Medal as best afield in the 1986 and 1988 Grand Finals. By 1991, he was the vice-captain at Glenferrie, hunting his fifth premiership. The man they called Conan joins The Greatest Season That Was to take us into the inner sanctum of one of the most decorated and celebrated football team ever assembled. This is Bound for Glory.  The Greatest Season That Was Presents is part of The Bad Producer Podcast Network.Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/TGSTWSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If 1991 was the year the national game came of age, it was the West Coast Eagles that drove the success. . During 1991 as the Eagles dominated the competition Victorian fans' worst fears were realised, the monster form Perth had taken over. But the view from Victoria was a distorted one, and didn’t take into account the challenge the club faced starting from a tribal and traditional league, nor the travel factor that would take its toll. Broadcasting doyen and Perth native  Dennis Cometti saw all of this up close, he joins us to discuss the Eagles rocky rise to 1991 in TGSTW presents Bound For Glory   The Greatest Season That Was Presents is part of The Bad Producer Podcast Network.Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/TGSTWSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.