Geoff Lawson wants Ricky Ponting to give up captaincy
Former Australian pace bowler and former Pakistani coach, Geoff Lawson has called for a change in the captaincy of the Australian team after Ricky Ponting lost the two-match Test series against India 0-2.
Lawson has said that the change of guard will not only benefit the Australian team but also help Ricky Ponting in overcoming his batting issues.
Ponting had a decent time with the bat as he scored three 70s in the four innings that he batted. However, by his own lofty standards, Ponting’s form has fallen away and in the last 12 months he's averaged
only 43 as compared to the overall average of 55.
Ponting’s captaincy has also come in for some criticism ever since he became the first ever Australian captain since 1934 to lose the Ashes twice. In the last two years, he has also lost a couple of series
to India by a 0-2 margin, and lost a series to http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757 1-2.
Lawson pointed out that not only was his captaincy a bit under par but the Australian side also had a Michael Clarke waiting to take over the role.
Lawson said, "I mean he's now lost five series, it may be time to say 'look mate, we've got Michael Clarke ready to go with a nice fresh young mind, he can be the captain and you focus on your batting
and try to restore yourself to the level we know you're capable'."
Lawson pointed out how Sachin Tendulkar has performed much better over the last 18 months or so given that he is no longer the skipper of the Indian side and can take breaks whenever from cricket he wishes
to. This has helped him prolong his career and get some brilliant innings out of him.
Lawson said, "It's a great point [about Ponting scoring three 70s] and Ricky's still batting reasonably, he got two scores of 70 in this Test match. The difference is that Tendulkar got a double-hundred and
then backed it up with a 50-odd not out and obviously he can focus on those big scores.”
He also said, "You've got to look at the way Ponting is batting and think mentally he can't concentrate for long enough."
Ponting has been afforded a break from the ODI series against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Clarke-c51120.
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