Cricket

[MB78]

How do you think Mark Taylor and Steve Waugh would have gone as captains without Warne, McGrath, Gilchrist/Healy, the Waughs, Hayden and Langer in their sides?

Would they be rated as highly as we do? Or would their records be worse?

Taylor and Steve Waugh would have been dropped during their form slump and not returned so they would not have been able to leave on their own terms.

If Ponting had these players and where winning their would be no ????????????? on his future.

 

[mb64]

In case you haven't noticed Ponting isn't scoring any.
At least Clarke has a chance of being around the next Ashes series.
Not fussed on Clarke but..
Time to go Punter.

Pretty harsh Tooheys,happy for a new skipper but Ponting still could make plenty of runs for a couple of years.

 

[Streak]

Personally, I'd like to see us stick with the "skipper out in a wooden box" mantra we have had for some time now.

Once you have become more than just a fill-in skipper, you cease being skipper when you stop playing. No relinquishing of the role.\

I think it is counterproductive to have a former skipper playing in the side.

So if Punter is no longer skipper, then he does not play again.

 

[spook]

If Ponting plays, he's captain, there's no doubt about that.

 

[Leysy Days]

Sorry but I disagree with this entirely. There is always someone else.
Yes Ricky has been a great player for Australia previously but not in the past two seasons and at 36 years of age many cricketers have their ticket punched when they fail to perform, especially in a struggling team.
Last cricketing year his output was down but moderate, this year in particular Ricky simply has not performed.
To spell it out again he now has one hundred from his past 37 innings. ONE.
You forecast Punter to be the top run scorer in the series and he ended it with an average per innings of 16 and a long term injury.
An unmitigated failure on all levels in easily the most important series on the Aussie cricket calendar. At home no less.
Ricky's failure to fire sent shockwaves through the squad and the team's confidence went south. As we well know the fish rots from the head.This team was comprehensively flogged Naisy in all areas & the sooner we recognise this catastrophe for what it is, the closer we will be to regaining the Ashes.
A complete rebuild is required and if that means a few high profile names are those to go then so be it. Patience is required sure but not for those who have been there and done that. Bring in the fresh blood.

Time to go Punter.

Just on the bolded part Tooheys. Punter doesnt run Cricket Australia. He doesnt set schedules that have his team arriving on home shores after the touring team. Its not his role to look into the vagaries of reverse swing.

Contrary to popular opinion ricky Ponting doesnt run cricket in the country.

In case you haven't noticed Ponting isn't scoring any.

No he played only as well as your latest protegy Clarke this series ToO. In the previous series to the Ashes in just October when Australia toured easily the hardest place in cricket the No 1 ranking Indians Ponting averaged 55 & Clarke 8.

Navy certainly doesnt have confidence that someone like Clarke who lacks intestinal fortitude, has questionable loyalty from his players & hasnt been able to handle the move from No 5 to No 4 will be able to step into the selflessness of leading his country on their next two extremely hard tours of Sri Lanka & South Africa.

 

[Tigers of Old]

Contrary to popular opinion ricky Ponting doesnt run cricket in the country.

Don't think I ever suggested he did Naisy :headscratch but he has most certainly been captain of our rabble of a cricket side hence the fish/head comment.

No he played only as well as your latest protegy Clarke this series ToO. In the previous series to the Ashes in just October when Australia toured easily the hardest place in cricket the No 1 ranking Indians Ponting averaged 55 & Clarke 8.

Nice spin but Punter's overall form has been noticeably on the slide over the past two seasons and the stats will support that.
It's become apparent, particularly recently, that his previous magnificence has begun to desert him. It's noticeable with the bat and also in the field.
No doubt had a great career but time catches up with everyone, some faster than others and Ricky's time is now.

No doubt substantial changes need to be made & preparations need to begin for the next Ashes series, which Clarke is at least a chance to be a part of.
Whilst he has had a bad trot no doubt & his nagging back is a concern, he's a quality player & he deserves an opportunity to be in charge of the Test side without Ponting looking over his shoulder. His wise decision to step aside from the 20/20 format will hopefully allow him to reignite his game and his fitness.

Seriously given where we are right now, if Clarke (or Haddin) doesn't work out as skipper what have we lost? The dark can't get much darker right now.
It's time for a change in the captaincy at Test level and Ponting should retire as a player after the WC.

 

[Streak]

I find it interesting, and not convincing, that Haddin has been dropped from the 20/20 version of the game to make way for Tim Paine.

Don't get me wrong, Paine is the way of the future for us as keeper, but I am not convinced of the merits of the 20/20 format for helping players develop.

As a starter, I'd go the other way. Drop Haddin for 50 over one dayers to get Paine some experience then look to transition into the test side next summer. Let Haddin play the 20/20 games.

 

[IanG]

Good analysis by Greg Baum at:

http://www.theage.com.au/sport/cricket/no-ashes-no-excuses-and-no-place-for-losers-to-hide-20110107-19iue.html

This bit in particular is just shocking:

"Yesterday afternoon, coach, chief selector and chief executive informally launched a review by fronting up to media. But Andrew Hilditch said he thought the selectors had done a good job, and Tim Nielsen said he thought the preparation was about right, and so between them managed only to demonstrate how ingrained was Australia's self-denial. It really was those pathetic players after all.

Cricket Australia suffers from an appalling lack of awareness. This shows in minutia. When rain delayed play yesterday morning, the SCG ground announcer sing-songed pen pics of every Australian player, though by then most wished to hide and three-quarters of the crowd was English."

If they are that much in denial then cricket in Australia is dead. I wouldn't p!ss on Hilditch or Neilsen if they were on fire now. *smile*wits the pair of them. It beggars belief that they can sit back and make such statements after the series we've just had.

 

[DragicevicFan]

I find it interesting, and not convincing, that Haddin has been dropped from the 20/20 version of the game to make way for Tim Paine.

Don't get me wrong, Paine is the way of the future for us as keeper, but I am not convinced of the merits of the 20/20 format for helping players develop.

As a starter, I'd go the other way. Drop Haddin for 50 over one dayers to get Paine some experience then look to transition into the test side next summer. Let Haddin play the 20/20 games.

If our next test match is not until August, Haddin's test career is over.

If we are going to look to the future, and Paine is viewed as a future leader (correctly IMO) - then the change needs to happen now. Haddin has still been doing a reasonable job, but the current situation makes it time for Paine to take his place.

 

[johnson2richo2003]

You know i thought i,ve heard it all before through the Wallace years.However is there anyone more delluded in the history of mankind let alone sport than Hilditch,s statement that in his opinion the selectors have done an excellent job.
What a joke of a man.Come to think of it,he,s done an excellent job.He,s actually got a side that mirrors him.A Joke.

 

[IanG]

If our next test match is not until August, Haddin's test career is over.

If we are going to look to the future, and Paine is viewed as a future leader (correctly IMO) - then the change needs to happen now. Haddin has still been doing a reasonable job, but the current situation makes it time for Paine to take his place.

Good rationale but they won't have the balls to do it.

 

[Tigers of Old]

I thought Hilditch did a great job of rearranging the deck chairs.

 

[IanG]

You know i thought i,ve heard it all before through the Wallace years.However is there anyone more delluded in the history of mankind let alone sport than Hilditch,s statement that in his opinion the selectors have done an excellent job.
What a joke of a man.Come to think of it,he,s done an excellent job.He,s actually got a side that mirrors him.A Joke.

They are almost literally now a cancer on the game.

 

[craig]

Selectors will not admit they got it wrong, otherwise they will be forced to fall on their swords and Hilditch especially will lose his cushie gig.

 

[ARCHYBOY]

Can anyone confirm for me that Hildritch married Bob Simpsons daughter?? I believe he did....

If so, that to me explains why he is so protected in his cushy role

 

[Brodders17]

They are almost literally now a cancer on the game.

have the selectors explained smith's selection at all? was he picked as a no 6 bowler or a no 7 batsman?
if he was picked as a batsman how can they then justify him batting at 7 when the guy next in line, kwahja, was considered good enough to go straight to 3?

possibly the only calls that werent totally obvious they got right was playing hussey and bringing johnson back for the perth test, but even that pick could be argued over the next few tests. bringing hilfy back failed. picking hughes with no form behind him failed, picking smith as a no 6, again with no form behind him, failed. picking doherty failed. picking beer I'll reserve judgement on. not picking hauritz from the start was a mistake. playing 4 quicks in melb was a mistake. playin north at all was wrong.

hussey should retire on a good note. ponting should retire on a bad note. katich should be retired if there is an opener near capable- and thats not hughes. haddin for paine maybe, but im not quite convinced its the right time yet.

my batting order would be something like
1: watson
2: ???
3: khawaja
4: clarke
5: D. Hussey- wont happen but warrants a chance and could have a few years at test level giving the youngsters the chance to earn their spot. and I like him.
5: if not hussey- S. Marsh
6: S. Marsh/ McDonald/ Ferguson/ White/ ??
7: Haddin/ Paine
8: Johnson
9: Hauritz/O'Keefe
10: Siddle
11: Copeland/Pattison
Bowlers I'm not sure about but they should look to include at least on young quick, a Copeland/Pattison etc to go with prob Johnson & Siddle/Harris. Spinner either Hauritz or maybe O'Keefe if he gets some wickets to end the shield season.

 

[craig]

Id be looking very towards youngsters such as Mitch Marsh, Andrew Macdonald, Starc, Cowan, Copeland, Okeefe, Pattinson and Maddison going forward maybe Cutting .

Paine is a lock, but i think the over exposure to IPL and 20/20 and 50 over cricket has had an impact on the development of Aussie players and loss of technique and patience.

Aussie bats seemed plastered on the front foot throughout this series thus easy pickings to good swing bowling.

 

[Big Cat Lover]

Ponting has been given plenty of 'grace'. Right now his career is on the slide & hopefully he makes the right decision or like others it will be made for him.
I'm more interested in us getting back to the top sooner rather than later than letting a former champ retire when it suits him.

Our best batsman in the previous series against India not 4 months ago. Averaged 56. He averaged 48 in the previous Ashes series in Endland. He averaged 63 against Paklistan last summer. Yes his form is down on 2 years ago but Tendulkar & Kallis are pretty good examples for him to follow. Just cannot give a champion the flick without a chance to get back off the canvas. Tendulkar was definitely on the slide and look at him now. And he was batting at 4 and performing poorly.
He can go to 4,5 or 6 until someone better comes along. Personally have high hopes for Callum Ferguson being in one of those slots also.

You definitely have a thing against older players/champions. Maybe you were cut before your time once? ;D

 

[Streak]

I don't think we lose anything by keeping Katich in the side for the moment. He isn't young, but his form has been good enough and you need to play your best openers to give the batsmen below a decent chance to play their roles.

Besides, there is no one else.

 

[Tigers of Old]

You definitely have a thing against older players/champions. Maybe you were cut before your time once? ;D

A long time before lol. ;D

Nah I basically cannot see the point in carrying struggling older players when it's patently obvious this chronic side needs a rebuild and patience with younger cricketers, not older ones unlikely to improve. To draw a comparison I said the same thing for Richmond's ageing stars Bowden, Brown, Richardson, Cousins, Simmonds etc. and younger players have stepped in to fill the void fairly quickly and now our rebuild is well underway. I cannot honestly see the point in keeping Punter either as a skipper or player given where this team sits right now. Him roosting at six into old age getting a few runs against Pakistan & Sri Lanka merely delays a younger player getting exposure at test level.
Been a great career but it is most certainly time to go Punter.