Cricket Australia’s woes continue as fielding coach Mike Young shown the door
As Andrew Hilditch and his selection committee pick and drop every other person who has played cricket in the country, they make yet another change for the next crucial Ashes Test matches.
According to reports, Australian veteran fielding coach Mike Young has been told that he would not be required for the crucial Melbourne and Sydney Test matches.
It is being reported that Young was even not a part of the second Test match when Captain Ricky Ponting and his men dropped catches and missed the stumps. Young’s absence in the second Test match has sparked a buzz in the Australian
camp, who have privately questioned his absence during the crunch-time.
Young, who was hailed as Australia’s “secret weapon for the 2003 World Cup title” by http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Western-Australia-c865 Cricket Association (WACA)
ground, but sources have reported that he will not be a part of the fourth and fifth Test matches.
Some sources in Cricket Australia claim that the Board will be thinking over whether his services are required in the One Day Series and Twenty20 series against England after the Ashes and for the World Cup 2011, which is scheduled
to start from 19 February in the sub-continent.
Young, who has been coaching the squad since 2001, has stated that he is desperate to help the players get back into form and reignite their fielding outfit.
“If asked, of course I’d be there in Melbourne and Sydney to help the team but I’m loyal to Cricket Australia and it is up to them if they want me there,” Young said even though there is no official statement by the Board.
Australia has been under the lens for quite some time since failing to win the first Test match in Brisbane and slumping to an innings defeat against England in the second Test match at Adelaide.
The second Test match was lost due to an all-round poor performance by the Australian squad, but particularly due to the poor fielding which resulted in ten dropped catches in the first two Tests.
Cricket Australia’s spokesperson Peter Young is yet to explain the absence of the fielding coach in the second Test; however, he defended the stance of not using him for the crucial matches by saying that he works on a part-time
arrangement.
“Mike is one of the specialists that comes in from time to time but he doesn’t travel full time with the team,” Peter said.
His absence can be a worrying thought in the Aussie camp to save the Ashes, as England has an extensive specialist management along with fielding Coach Richard Halsall, who has been responsible for on the spot stump hitting by
the English players.
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