Editor's Blog: An Ashes lesson in great teams

I was up late last night - another night of a screaming baby followed by a collapse on the sofa (me, not the baby). What those hours did allow me to do was catch the end of the last Ashes Test Match in Sydney, the final nail in the coffin of the England cricket team losing the series 5-0.

Now I love following the England cricket team - but if you don't follow or don't like that sport (or any sport!) at all, don't stop reading now. As high a high as summer 2005 was in the annals of following the side*, this winter has been a distinct low.

Still with the retiring from test cricket of three great players (an all-time legend in Shane Warne, a mere great in Glenn McGrath and a player that would make a 'top 20 of his era' in Justin Langer) I got to thinking - through a slightly foggy mind and ringing ears - about what makes the best teams.

There are clearly many answers to that question and I won't try to address more than one here. The thing about the Australian team is that they have been, for 10 to 15 years a group of very talented - almost freakishly talented in the case of four or five of them - players but they haven't only relied on that.

Their preparation and attitude have seen that none - or at least very little - of that natural ability has been wasted.

I'm a firm believer that a team of 10 that gels together is worth a team of 20 or 30 people - or maybe a similar-sized team of gifted individuals where egos and internal disputes are impediments.

Of course many will talk tosh about the 'Aussie mentality', as if other teams they have beaten over the years didn't want to win. Am I the only one who remembers the Aussies getting the run around as much as anyone else in the 70s and 80s from the West Indies of that era?

I can't believe a national character changed so much in the course of a decade.

And the real lesson may be about to be revealed. With supremely talented individuals leaving the team, both now and invariably over the next two or three years, the team will have to rely on that supreme work ethic even more.

Is anyone out there foolish enough to suggest the Aussies will dominate the next 10 to 15 years as they have the last?

We see it time and time again in business. Those that over-rely on individuals suffer when key personnel move on, while those with a corporate culture of hard work, communication and other 'X-factors' - teamwork, you could call it - do consistently well.

Just a constructive thought. Well, I had to find something positive out of the last two months of late nights.

Let me know your thoughts by posting a Reader Comment below - on the debacle Down Under generally (yeah, it pains me to be so complementary about Australian cricketers) or more broadly on what makes the best teams.

*And I freely draw the reader's attention to me calling the result in England's favour then, when learned sports writers didn't give them a chance.