The Test: A New Era for Australia's Team | |
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Genre | docu-series |
Based on | 2018 Australian ball-tampering scandal |
Directed by | Adrian Brown |
Starring | |
Country of origin | Australia |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 1 |
No. of episodes | 8 |
Production | |
Producer | Amazon Prime Video |
Production location | Australia |
Running time | 43-61 minutes per episode |
Release | |
Original network | Amazon Prime Video |
Original release | 12 March 2020 |
The Test: A New Era for Australia's Team, also known as The Test, is a 2020 Australian English-language TV docu-series, produced for Amazon Prime Video. [1] The docu-series was also co-produced by Cricket Australia. It was released on Amazon Prime on 12 March 2020 and consists of 8 episodes. [2]
The docu-series follows the Australia men's cricket team's path to redemption under the captaincy of Tim Paine with the joint effort under Justin Langer who was appointed as the head coach of the Australian cricket team in 2018. [3] It focuses on 18 months of the Australian team as it went through a rough phase and transition in the aftermath of the Australian ball-tampering scandal which emerged in March 2018. [4]
An edited, feature-length version of the series aired on the Seven Network on 4 October 2020. [5]
This series is a behind-the-scenes glance which takes a look at the Australian men's team's fall from grace and being forced to retain its legacy, title and integrity. The series begins with the 2018 Australian ball-tampering scandal which rocked Australian cricket, the subsequent press conferences, and the bans from play for Captain Steve Smith, deputy David Warner, and Australian opener Cameron Bancroft. Darren Lehmann resigned as head coach, while Tim Paine replaced Smith as the new captain of the national team. [6] [7]
A few weeks later, former cricketer Justin Langer was announced by Cricket Australia as the new head coach. Despite the odds, the sequence of events ends up with the promise of a better future under the leadership of Paine and Langer who also introduced ethical code of conduct within the Australian setup and also introduced the method of shaking hands before the commencement of a match.
The series then shifts to an account of the next 18 months of the Australian Men's Cricket team from their sole perspective. It includes their first draws against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates, India's first test series win during the Australian Summer as well as Australia's first wins against Sri Lanka, their time in India for ODI's and Twenty20 games, and the return of Smith and Warner to the team just before the 2019 Cricket World Cup in England. [8]
The last two episodes spotlights on Australia's contribution during the 2019 Ashes series, which includes Steve Smith hit in the neck with a bouncer during the Second Test, Australia's near win in the Third Test without Smith, with the series finishing on Australia's retention of the Ashes urn by winning the Fourth Test.
The Australia men's national cricket team represents Australia in men's international cricket. As the joint oldest team in Test cricket history, playing in the first ever Test match in 1877, the team also plays One-Day International (ODI) and Twenty20 International (T20I) cricket, participating in both the first ODI, against England in the 1970–71 season and the first T20I, against New Zealand in the 2004–05 season, winning both games. The team draws its players from teams playing in the Australian domestic competitions – the Sheffield Shield, the Australian domestic limited-overs cricket tournament and the Big Bash League.
The Border–Gavaskar Trophy is a Test cricket series played between India and Australia. It is played via the International Cricket Council's future tours program, every two years.
Justin Lee Langer is an Australian cricket coach and former cricketer. He is the former coach of the Australia men's national team, having been appointed to the role in May 2018 and leaving in February 2022. A left-handed batsman, Langer is best known for his partnership with Matthew Hayden as Australia's test opening batsmen during the early and mid-2000s, considered one of the most successful ever. Representing Western Australia domestically, Langer played English county cricket for Middlesex and also Somerset. He holds the record for the most runs scored at first-class level by an Australian.
In the sport of cricket, sledging is the practice of deliberately insulting or verbally intimidating an opposing player. The purpose is to try to weaken the opponent's concentration, thereby causing them to underperform or be more prone to error. It can be effective because the batsman stands well within hearing range of the bowler and certain close fielders, and vice versa. The insults may be direct or may feature in conversations among fielders which are intended to be overheard by the batsman. The term has also been used in other sports, as when the tennis player Nick Kyrgios insulted his opponent, Stan Wawrinka, by referring to a purported encounter between another player and the latter's girlfriend.
In the sport of cricket, ball tampering is an action in which a fielder illegally alters the condition of the ball. The primary motivation of ball tampering is to interfere with the aerodynamics of the ball to aid swing bowling.
Timothy David Paine is an Australian cricketer and a former captain of the Australia national cricket team in Test cricket. A right-handed batsman and a wicket-keeper, he plays for the Tasmanian Tigers in Australian domestic cricket and was the captain of the Hobart Hurricanes before his selection for Australia in the 2017–18 Ashes series.
David Warner is an Australian international cricketer and a former captain of the Australian national team in limited overs format and also a former test vice-captain. A left-handed opening batsman, Warner is the first Australian cricketer in 132 years to be selected for a national team in any format without experience in first-class cricket. He is considered as one of the best batters of the current era. He plays for New South Wales and played for the Sydney Thunder in domestic cricket. He served as the Australian vice-captain across Test and ODI formats of the game between 2015 and 2018.
Steven Peter Devereux Smith is an Australian international cricketer and former captain of the Australian national team. Smith has drawn comparisons to Don Bradman, widely acknowledged as the greatest batsman of all time, due to his distinctively high Test batting average.
Virat Kohli is an Indian international cricketer and former captain of the India national cricket team. He plays for Delhi in domestic cricket and Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League as a right-handed batsman. He is often considered one of the best batsmen of his era and is widely regarded as one of the greatest all-format batsmen of all time. Between 2013 and 2022, he captained the India cricket team in 213 matches across all three formats. With 40 wins out of 68 matches, Kohli is one of the most successful Indian Test captains.
Marcus Sinclair Harris is an Australian cricketer who plays as an opening batsman for Victoria in domestic cricket. He made his Test cricket debut for the Australia national cricket team in December 2018.
Cameron Timothy Bancroft is an Australian cricketer, currently contracted to Western Australia in Australian first class cricket, Durham in English first class cricket, and the Perth Scorchers in the Big Bash League. He made his Test debut for the Australian national team in November 2017.
The Indian cricket team toured Australia from 24 November 2014 to 10 January 2015. The tour consisted of two tour matches and four Test matches. The first Test was originally scheduled on 4 December in Brisbane, but it was postponed because of the death of Phillip Hughes. Instead, Adelaide hosted the first Test from 9 December and the Brisbane hosted the second Test from 17 December. Following the draw in the third Test, Indian captain MS Dhoni announced his retirement from Test cricket with immediate effect. After the draw in the final Test in Sydney, Australia won the series 2–0. Following the Test matches, Australia and India participated in the Carlton Mid Triangular Series with the England cricket team.
The Australian cricket team toured India in February and March 2017 playing four Test matches. India won the series 2–1. With the series victory, India held all the series titles against all of the other Test sides at the same time.
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The India cricket team toured Australia from November 2018 to January 2019 to play four Tests, three One Day Internationals (ODIs) and three Twenty20 International (T20I) matches. Initially, the Test match at the Adelaide Oval was planned to be a day/night fixture, but the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) declined the offer from Cricket Australia to play the match under lights. In April 2018, the Western Australian Cricket Association confirmed that the Perth Stadium would host its first ever Test match. During the second Test, it became the tenth venue in Australia to host a Test match.
The 2018 Australian ball-tampering scandal, also known as the Sandpapergate scandal, was a cricket cheating scandal surrounding the Australian national cricket team. In March 2018, during the third Test match against South Africa at Newlands in Cape Town, Cameron Bancroft was caught by television cameras trying to rough up one side of the ball with sandpaper to make it swing in flight. Captain Steve Smith and vice-captain David Warner were found to be involved and all three received unprecedented sanctions from Cricket Australia. Although he was found not to have been directly involved, Australia's coach, Darren Lehmann, announced he would step down from his role following the scandal. Smith was replaced by Tim Paine as captain in all formats before Aaron Finch took over from Paine in ODIs and T20Is.
The 2019 Ashes series was a series of Test cricket matches played between England and Australia for The Ashes in August and September 2019. The venues were Edgbaston, Lord's, Headingley, Old Trafford and The Oval. Australia were the defending holders of the Ashes going into the series, having won in 2017–18. It was the first Test series of the inaugural 2019–2021 ICC World Test Championship. During the second Test match a concussion substitute was used for the first time in international cricket. Ben Stokes' game-winning 135* in the third Test has been hailed by many as the greatest Test innings of all time. Australia retained the Ashes after winning the fourth Test, with England levelling the series 2–2 in the final test, resulting in the first drawn Ashes series since 1972.
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