What’s suddenly wrong with Ricky Ponting’s Australian side?
Australian cricket team had been setting standards for the past 20 years in the world of international cricket. They have had the least number of Test captains during the past 2 decades (Allan Border, Mark Taylor, Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting), have given
the least number of Test caps to players in recent times, and have been the only country to successfully manage the rotation policy for a long time.
But as every rise has a fall, so does the Australian empire, which has started to lose its place as the leaders in the world of cricket.
The announcement of the squad for the Perth Test seems more like the work of selectors from Pakistan than from those Down Under. Not only have they ’finally’ managed to get rid of the ’failing star’ Marcus North (after repeated failures), they are on the
verge of giving a Test cap to http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Michael-Beer-c1949, who no one knows.
The left-arm spinner is not only new to international cricket but also to domestic cricket, having made only five first-class appearances before his Perth ‘adventure‘. His surprise selection in place of Nathan Hauritz is a gamble that will either win them
the Perth Test or lose them The Ashes. Since Perth is considered to be a pacer’s paradise, it is likely he might not make his Test debut in the first place. If he does, Australia will have to play exceptionally well to square the series.
The Australian selectors have also recalled Steven Smith, who they shouldn’t have dropped in the first place after his successful debut series against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755. Smith has played two Tests, against Pakistan in England in July, when he was chosen as a leg-spinner
in the absence of the injured Nathan Hauritz.
Marcus North was a certainty to be dropped, but had the Australian selectors of the 90s been at the helm of the selection process, they wouldn’t have dropped him.
Who can forget the lean period former Australian captain Mark Taylor had when he took over as captain from Allan Border? He failed miserably as an opening batsman, yet he wasn’t dropped and regained his form, hitting a customary century in the first Test
of his first Ashes series as captain. He went onto score a triple century at http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Peshawar-c832 against Pakistan and helped Australia become one of the best sides in the world.
However, Ricky Ponting’s case is of a totally different nature. While Mark http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Clarke-c51120 as his deputy, whose own form is a cause of worry for the hosts. He did manage
to score 80 in the last match but the way he was dismissed, off Kevin Pietersen in the last over of the day, proves he lacks the temperament to lead the mighty Australians.
On the other hand, Australia’s most successful fast bowler of the current year Doug Bollinger was dropped for no reason. His performance was better than the shocking Peter Siddle, who shocked himself by taking a hat-trick in the first Test of the series,
and then shocked the Australians by being a below-par bowler in the second Test and is likely to shock all by making it to the final XI at Perth.
Since being dropped, the tried and tested duo of Ben Hilfenhaus and Mitchell Johnson has done nothing to earn a recall. Yet in a desperate attempt to square the series, the selectors got them back into the squad, and they both might play at Perth if their
luck supports them.
The Perth match would not only be a do-or-die encounter for http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Phillip-Hughes-c2185, who comes in for the injured Simon Katich. Hughes had a good start to his international career but during the last Ashes, he failed miserably to be dropped
midway through the series. He hasn’t had a good season as well since his last scores in first class matches at Perth had been 4 and 0.
Former Australian fast bowler Geoff Lawson was critical of the selection of Beer, terming it as ‘just a fledgling‘. He believed the selectors should have gone for Nathan Hauritz who has been in good form and has done well since being dropped ahead of the
Ashes. He also pointed out that Jason Krejza and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Bryce-McGain-c1202 also could have been chosen for third Test, yet the selectors went first for Xavier Doherty, and now for Michael Beer.
Lawson said that Doug Bollinger shouldn’t have been dropped since one bad game doesn’t mean he is out of form. The former Pakistan coach feels there is a lack of consistency and a lack of clear process in the Australian selection process, and its confusion
all around. Let’s hope Australia manages to do well at Perth, or they might opt to recall Shane Warne in a desperate bid to square the series.
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