Team sport prowess and national pride have always been inseparable in Australia but this might mark a turning point

Now that you know what it feels like to be us, we're starting to realise what it feels like to be you.

Australians, historically unable to separate national self-esteem from prowess at competitive sports, have suddenly found other grounds for pride. As our cricket team was put out of its misery this week, Sydney psychiatrist and author Tanveer Ahmed pointed to our "11 Nobel prize winners, the cochlear implant, Google Maps and internet Wi-Fi", not forgetting our economy and currency that are, in the local patois, crapping all over yours. (Of all the Barmy Army's songs, most noticeable is the deleted one: "We're fat, we're loud, three dollars to the pound.")