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Will heads roll?
Will Ponting resign the captaincy?
Will Hussey decide to go out on a high?
How safe is Watson in the side if he's not going to bowl?
Will the selectors fall on their swords?
Will Clark and Lee ever play for Aus again?
Will be an interesting few months in Australia, the media hasn't been paying any attention to this series, so there won't be a lot of external pressure.
Had Ponting not been such a champion batsmen, you'd think his position as captain would be in serious trouble.
However Australia need Ponting's batting now more than ever, and its not the Australian way to take the captaincy of a player, and for them to remain in the team.
Can't see it occurring here again.
Had Australia not won in South Africa though I'm sure Ponting would be gone.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pasag
I wouldn't attempt to answer those (except I thought Watson did a good job and I'd be surprised if Ponting went), but that does surprise me.
Broad to take over the Flintoff role, Trott to be a key part of the middle order. :D
Too busy trying to figure out whether some South African is a dude or a girl.Quote:
Originally Posted by stumpski
1) You'd imagine so. Although whose are anyone's guess. Clark, probably; Hussey, possibly; Katich, maybe.Quote:
Originally Posted by pasag
2) Nup. Doesn't strike me as a quitter.
3) Dunno. Still think the decision might be taken out of his hands anyway tho.
4) Fairly, you'd think. Couldn't have done more with the bat, realistically. Hughes back in & slips into middle order at #4 or #5, IMHO.
5) Nup, again. Fecking should do tho. Balance of the squad was wrong and no spinner for The Oval a howler.
6) Only in extremis. Never say never tho.
Always strikes me as odd. No-one would claim Ponting is a great captain, so to leave him as skipper because Oz don't retain ex-captains seems to be making a problem where one need not exist.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jono
Ian Chappell and Graham Yallop both played on under their successors IIRC, it's not that common though.
In England, the captain usually resigns at a comparatively young age, when he still has a few years cricket in him.
Much as I don't like Ponting, I don't think he should resign the captaincy. I don't think falling on your sword is a noble act, especially if its undeserved. I don't think it was his captaincy that caused the downfall.
Although Aussies are 4th, if they don't make it into the top two in the next couple of series, he may be forced into resigning.
Kim Hughes had a couple of tests under Border too, but he was the last I think.Quote:
Originally Posted by stumpski
Since this is the 3rd series Ponting has lost in the last 11 months, he will have to answer a few questions on his captaincy. Key decisions like leaving out the sole spinner in an Ashes decider indeed will raise a ruckus. In fact, considering the fact that Ponting has been more or less a failure since WC 07 began, recording wins only against the much weaker NZ and SL at home, and against WI away, He indeed has the bargaining chips of SA win, which was fairly facile. But the heavy defeats in India, coupled with the AShes loss and home defeat against SA, will go against him.
Add the ODI fortunes to that and it is a sorry looking package.
However, Australia needs Ponting the bat. He's been under extreme pressure ever since Hyaden, Langer and Gilly left and it is obvious captaincy under pressure has not really sat on him well. This is the best time to relieve him of that, considering farily easy stuff is coming up in the Aussie summer. And we may in all probabilites get to see Ponting the champion again.
As I said in the other thread the selectors need to go, its very easy to blame Ponting for these loses, but my question is what's he supposed to do when the test side keeps changing after every one or two games.Quote:
Originally Posted by pasag
Transition period is tough for any side, but all the this constant chopping and changing on the part of the selectors has made it impossible for Ponting to rebuild a stable team, therefore that needs to stop, if we are to put together consistent performances.
Ponting wouldn't and shouldn't resign, because a) he is the best man lead the current side, b) there is no decent enough option to replace him with.
Apart from Clark, I don't see anyone else in danger of being dropped from the test side, Lee is one the most experienced bowlers we have, and he is still good enough to break through into the team, but Clark unfortunately since his elbow injury seems to lost the venom and nip that made him such a dangerous bowler, so he could find himself out of favor with the selectors.
As for Watto, as much as I like him, I think he needs to go back to FC cricket and work on his technique, because his technique at present is likely to get exposed very easily at the test level, irrespective of where he bats, though if he stays fit and contributes with the ball as well, then there is a case for him being retained in the test side.
Hussey is one of the main players around whom the new team is being tried to be built, and its vital he stays on till the next Ashes, so there is no question of him being dropped.
I dont' agree with Hussey retained till next Ashes. He in almost all likelihood be back to his home minnow bashing best in Australia but again found out when the big sides come touring.
Pakistan and West Indies aren't top tier test sides but ffs they are no minnows, and why are you discounting Hussey' efforts in this last innings, scored runs on a pretty difficult pitch, with the pressure of playing for his career also on him, to put it simply he is class act ,and he is one of the best batsmen around in Australia atm.Quote:
Originally Posted by Pigeon
There's no point in picking someone, watching them score a ton and then dropping them. If Hussey was to be dropped based on his recent failings it should have been before this Test (or after it had he failed again here) - dropping him now would be insane. Sure, he may retire, but that's obviously different.
I don't think we'll see massive changes tbh. I really doubt Ponting will step down, especially as Michael Clarke's next in line and hasn't really shown any signs of tactical genius to put pressure on Ponting. Also Australian captains don't tend to hang around after losing the job and Ponting's clearly got a lot more runs in him. It's worth noting though that Ponting hasn't been 'Ponting the batsman' for quite some time, he's still a solid player but he isn't the run machine of 5 years ago. In the unlikely event that he has a bad home summer the pressure could really heat up. I think Hussey saved his place this last innings, similar to Hayden in 05 actually, though he should definitely swap places with Clarke. I reckon Hughes will return in place of Watson, even if not immediately. Barring injury, Lee and Clark's test careers are really up in the air at the moment, which isn't too different from after the SA tour.