The Australians won the VB series last night, and it just led me to start thinking whether there is any side in world-cricket today that can beat these seemingly unstoppable giants. Pakistan bowled very well yesterday, and it's rare for any side to restrict Australia to less than 250 in two consecutive games. Gilchrist had an early reprieve when he should have been out LBW in the first over, and he made the most of it by then hammering 40 off 30 balls. I don't blame the umpire too much though, it only just pitched inside leg-stump, and to the naked eye it was probably too close for comfort. As usual, though, Pakistan's batting left a lot to be desired. Although they have a huge depth in the batting, no one seemed willing to play a long innings and stay there till the end. It also seems like it has become a given that after 10 overs both openers will be gone, and possibly No. 3 as well. The match just became a matter of thinking "Well, they've lost a lot of wickets, but there's batting to come, they just need to form a partnership!". Alas, no partnership appeared, and the Aussies quite rightfully claimed victory in a series they have thoroughly dominated.

As for which team can pose any sort of threat to the Aussies, my guess would be the two teams currently playing each other, England and South Africa. England have experienced a sudden resurgence in terms of talent and form, and have been making waves in the cricketing world. Their defeat of Australia in the ICC Champions trophy (where they chased a fairly substantial total) showed that perhaps there was some merit to this hype being generated by legions of rejuvenated English supporters. However, of late, I think England seem to be slipping; or perhaps it's that SA have been improving. Now 1-2 down in the ODIs, they don't seem to have the consistency that's required to beat a great team like Australia. Much like Pakistan, they have the talent to do so on their day, but it's very questionable that they'll be able to win an entire series. Maybe I'm being too harsh on them, maybe it's just a lean patch they're going through at the moment.

I'd still back them to give Australia a scare in the Ashes, even if they can't win it - Hoggard is bowling brilliantly, and if Harmison can figure out what he's doing wrong, then they have an excellent opening attack. However, they don't seem to have as good support bowlers - Collingwood, Ali, they seem decent, but nothing exceptional. That may prove to be telling against the ominous batting card of Australia. The batting looks to be very good, even if a few players are not in form now. Strauss seems to be an amazing find, scoring century after century against the South Africans in the test series, he looks to have a good technique and the ability to bat for long periods of time. Vaughan was so impressive a few years ago - he just needs to score a fifty or two and get back his confidence! They have a fair bit of depth too, but they just need to get everyone into form if they want to challenge the Aussies.

South Africa have been very impressive, so much so that one wonders how they've managed to lose so many matches against England. Kallis is easily one of the best batsmen in world cricket today, with an impeccable technique and a voracious appetite for hundreds. Like England, SA has a lot of depth in their batting, going all the way down to Boucher and Pollock. Justin Kemp has a reputation for being a harder hitter of the ball than Klusener, and he showed why in the last couple of ODIs (although he was yorked twice by Collingwood before he could do any real damage!). The skipper, Smith, is not in particularly good form, and needs to work on his technique a bit, especially since Hoggard has exploited a weakness with his tendency to work balls onto the leg side. I think SA's real strength lies in the bowling, with Pollock and Ntini being the second best opening bowling combo in cricket (next to the Aussies' openers), with good support from Nel and Kallis. Boje is a bit of a question mark, I don't know too much about his bowling ability, although he has proved himself to be a very good batsman. I have vivid memories of Steve Waugh smashing him in the unforgettable quarter-final in the 1999 world cup though!

But, although England and South Africa are both very good teams, one just gets the feeling that Australia can meet any challenges that either team provide, and overcome them. It looks like it will be a while yet before anyone can offer serious competition to the world champions!