The answer to that question was answered in the affirmative after Michael Clarke's side lost the Test series in emphatic manner last season. The current touring party starts as underdogs against the Champions Trophy winners, and face the prospect of becoming the first team from Down Under to lose a 'full' ODI series in India. The Aussies had lost a three-match rain-hampered series 0-1 in 2010-11.
It would be tempting to write them off early, especially after their loss in the one-off T20, but ODIs are a different ball game, even more so when it consists of seven games. It allows either side to bounce back.
Besides, George Bailey's team does possess typical shorter format attributes like in-depth batting and utility all-rounders. The steep decline witnessed in Australian cricket in recent years has been largely restricted to the five-day version which demands significant staying power from the batsmen.
The difference in performance of the Australian team against India in Tests and One-dayers is particularly striking.
Probably, having grown up on traditionally hard and bouncy wickets, the Aussies have a natural power game that plays a crucial role in the one-dayers and T20s. Of course, the visitors do not have an intimidating batsman like Matthew Hayden of the past teams. More significantly, they lack number of matches under their belt. It's here they could feel the absence of their skipper Clarke (withdrawn due to injury). David Warner (dropped for lack of form) and Steven Smith (injury) are the other missing players who could have made a difference.
The Indian captain, however, refused to dwell on the travails of the opponents. "I don't believe in comparing eras. If you look at their team, they bat deep well," Mahendra Singh Dhoni said on the eve of the opening one-dayer. "They have quite a few batters who can bowl and bowlers who can bat. So, they have more number of bowlers to play with. Even if one bowler goes for runs, there are others to take up responsibility.
"And with the kind of batting they have, they can put big totals on the board and chase big targets."
His counterpart was not weighed down by such thoughts either. "We are not much worried about it. It's the end product of the series, we would like to focus on the first game," Bailey, the first player to captain Australia on debut in any format after Dave Gregory who led them in the first Test in 1877, said.
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