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Australia's day of judgement is at hand when they take on South Africa in a three-Test series today.
The team from Down Under still hold the number one ranking in Test cricket but their power seems to be on the wane.
The easy 2-0 win against lowly New Zealand was welcome after the drubbing in India. But Australia will be severely tested against a strong South African team.
The first Test at Perth will be a good indicator of which way the series will go. South Africa have a strong pace attack which will thrive on the often bouncy and fast pitch at Perth.
If the South African pacemen do succeed, then Australia may well find themselves playing catch-up in the subsequent Tests.
Dale Steyn, Makhaya Ntini and Morne Morkel offer such variety that they are any captain's dream. Both Steyn and Morkel are of express pace while Ntini offers experience and guile.
Australia will have to blunt them at the onset. The problem for Australia is that they have become far more circumspect in their approach.
The old aggression of a couple of years ago rarely surfaces these days. After having set the example of scoring 350 or more per day, Australia struggle to even get to 300 today.
Unfortunately, Ricky Ponting, though aggressive himself, has failed to get his team to be the same.
The loss of form of Matthew Hayden will be another worrying aspect. Hayden is the type of player who, when on song, hits practically everything out of sight.
Hayden needs to set the tone at the start. With Simon Katich on top of his game at the moment, Australia will certainly thrive.
The middle-order is in fairly good shape and the lower-order is now looking better with wicketkeeper Brad Haddin finding form.
Like Hayden, Jacques Kallis is also going through the worst trot of his career. The once imposing batsman now finds silly ways to get dismissed.
However, the opening pair of skipper Graeme Smith and Neil McKenzie have given great starts to the team and this has negated Kallis's dry spell.
The solid middle-order consisting of Ashwell Prince, A B DeVilliers and Mark Boucher is a major strength for the team. Boucher is also among the runs again and his role will be crucial as the tail starts at eight with Paul Harris.
A major problem which the South Africans will have to address is the pedestrian pace with which they score. They are wont to let things drift even when in a good position.
The Australian bowlers are sure to capitalise on that aspect. The fast men are in reasonably good nick and Brett Lee is finding his rhythm once again.
Mitchell Johnson has improved by the day and Stuart Clark is extremely dependable. Spinner Jason Krejza could be the dark horse.
Krejza has been sidelined this season after his wonderful performance in India due to injury. He is an old-fashioned spinner who flights the ball.
The South Africans are not the greatest players of spin and they will find Krejza a major problem.
Aggression will be the key to the entire series. The team which takes the other by the scruff of the neck will be the winner.
