Anticipation still high as sleepy Perth awaits Australia's heroes

The Test mace and the ODI World Cup trophy glistened in the hot, bright Perth sun.

They were placed on the Perth Stadium outfield for a photo opportunity and broadcast overlay shots ahead of the opening Test of Australia's home summer against Pakistan, the first international match Australia's all-conquering men's side will play since claiming both trophies overseas in the last six months.

But there was no Australian player in the frame. There were no fans in the stadium. No political figures or even Cricket Australia executives looking to bask in the reflected glory.

Australia's twice triumphant captain Pat Cummins was on the other side of the ground, wearing his whites, captain's blazer and baggy green, to pose with Pakistan skipper Shan Masood next to the Benaud-Qadir trophy.

Just over three weeks on from Australia's monumental triumph in Ahmedabad, in front of 90,000 India supporters, they will return as conquering heroes to something well short of a hero's welcome.

CA and Western Australian Cricket have thrown all their energy into rebranding "The West Test" in the hope of attracting crowds. But the reality is, they will be lucky to get more than 15,000 for day one of the first Test in the 60,000-capacity stadium.

Cummins was asked about the dichotomy of going from the sensory overload of Ahmedabad to the sleepiness of Perth.

"When you're talking about World Cup finals, it's the pinnacle, isn't it?" he said. "We're still on a high from that. It's not going to get much better from that. But I'm sure it's going to be well-supported here. Some of the Test matches you play in Australia, I think school might still be in here, you might not get the packed stadium, but you know there's going to be millions of people watching. And it's kind of the start of their summer, that first Test match. So we feel really supported whenever we play over here and probably after the last 12 months we've had, I've never felt the support like we have in the last month."

It is a prescient observation from Australia's captain about how Australian fans consume their cricket.

There has been incredulity from the subcontinent about Australia's reaction to the ODI World Cup victory. Cummins walking out of the Sydney airport three weeks ago without a mob of fans around him, with morning commuters barely even looking in his direction, gave rise to the theory that Australian fans don't care.

The team has been equally anonymous in Perth this week. Cummins attended a concert in Perth's famous Kings Park on Monday night and was largely left alone by the concertgoers.

But those public interactions run counter to the revelation from Google this week that the 'Cricket World Cup' and 'the Ashes' were the top two searched sporting terms in Australia in 2023, with 'BBL' running fifth. The only two non-cricket terms to crack the top five were the 'FIFA Women's World Cup', which was hosted in Australia and New Zealand in July and August and captured the nation's imagination, and a boxing fight between Jake Paul and Tommy Fury.

Australians consume their cricket differently. They follow the scores and highlights online. The fact the two major cricket events of the year happened in the northern hemisphere during the dead of night in Australia meant that they logged on in the morning to see how their team went. They would have been delighted with the results for the most part, albeit some are still disappointed they couldn't close out the Ashes.

But they don't live and die by every ball.

The concern then is that if they don't live and die by every ball for the Ashes and the World Cup, how will they do so for a home series against Pakistan, who have not won a Test here since 1995 and have never won a series here?

The answer is, they won't. But that's not necessarily because of the opposition. That's just because of how cricket is followed in Australia in 2023. They'll check in on the scores. They will expect Australia to win. But they won't be flocking to the stadiums around the country.

Cummins and his team, who are well within their rights to rest on their laurels given what they have achieved, are aware of the reality and know they have to maintain their standards. They know their fans expect them to climb more mountains, even if they're not providing vocal support in person.

"Growing up, I remember some of the great battles of seeing Shoaib Akhtar charging in or some of the tussles against some of the other South African teams and West Indian teams growing up," Cummins said. "So it's not always India and the Ashes in my mind that are the big ones. But I can only speak as a player and every Test match is huge. You want to play against players that you haven't played against a lot. These guys, probably half the team we haven't played against or certainly not in Australian conditions."

Every Test match is huge now thanks to the WTC. They are not blooding players for the future. They have picked the best side available. They know they have started the new cycle slightly off the pace after a lacklustre finish to the Ashes. Cummins knows his settled side can't afford to take the foot off the pedal.

"I think we're sitting about mid-table," Cummins said. "I think if last campaign was anything to go by, you've got to be able to win your home games. That's almost a non-negotiable and then obviously, you've got to do well on a couple of overseas tours. So if we want to be in that final again, basically you need to win your home games, so that's ahead of us."

The cycle begins again for Australia's conquering heroes. Fans or no fans in attendance, Australians will be following their progress. Expecting more wins. Expecting the trophies to remain glistening in the Australian sun.