Ricky Ponting should be sacked

[Rant0r]

The difference being that Warne had probably shown that he was an exception by then. I remember Ravi Shastri being interviewed about the game in a Warne tribute programme and saying 'He could have bowled much worse and got 5 wickets.' As far as I know, Krejza hasn't shown himself to be an exceptional bowler.

and i wish for many more un-exceptional cricketers to take 12-for... that's what makes cricket such a special game

 

[Prince EWS]

The difference being that Warne had probably shown that he was an exception by then. I remember Ravi Shastri being interviewed about the game in a Warne tribute programme and saying 'He could have bowled much worse and got 5 wickets.' As far as I know, Krejza hasn't shown himself to be an exceptional bowler.

No, but he's certainly shown himself to be better than a 50-First-Class-average bowler - on turning pitches anyway.

If the pitch doesn't turn and he plays, he'll prove a massive liability. On a pitch where fingerspin is a genuine attacking weapon, though, he's not far from Test class at all - he's certainly the best of the poor Australian options. That's why I think it's so important he's handled properly: there's basically no point in playing him at home.

 

[alternative]

Moving right along, ban him already.

 

[Rant0r]

No, but he's certainly shown himself to be better than a 50-First-Class-average bowler - on turning pitches anyway.

If the pitch doesn't turn and he plays, he'll prove a massive liability. On a pitch where fingerspin is a genuine attacking weapon, though, he's not far from Test class at all - he's certainly the best of the poor Australian options. That's why I think it's so important he's handled properly: there's basically no point in playing him at home.

australia is like a graveyard for finger spinners, which is why the selectors had a hard on when cullen took 30 odd wickets a few summers ago

 

[Uppercut]

Have to say, i agree with the first post- Ponting's time is up. With how Watto was bowling, it's quite frankly ridiculous that Ponting would bowl Michael Clarke in order to save himself a potential fine or short ban. It reflects badly on the state of the laws regarding over rates, but also on Ponting himself, and he may well have cost Australia the game.

His conservatism is getting ridiculous too. If you want to defend, as Dhoni showed just yesterday, spreading the field to give away singles and letting your bowlers bowl wherever isn't the way to do it. In fact, Dhoni's shown him up throughout the whole series. Really feel it's time for a chance.

Know nothing of Clarke's captaincy skills though. Hmm.

 

[Richard]

That's a fair issue - you only sack your captain if you think someone else can do better.

Of those established in the side, does anyone honestly think Hussey or Clarke could?

 

[Goughy]

Bowling flighted off breaks in Australian First Class cricket doesn't work because they rarely turn: given he's such an attacking bowler and given he isn't the most accurate bowler of all-time, he was regularly attacked with success.

Given that description, Im suprised he plays FC in Aus at all.

Basically he is an inaccurate, slow, straight break bowler that attacks but doesnt take wickets and gets battered around the field.

Sounds like a winner

 

[Matt79]

Regardless of the rights or wrongs of the decision, the reality is that Ponting is not going to be sacked as captain. Australia doesn't sack captains, and especially not if they can say that they were acting in accordance with a plan agreed with the coach to satisfy the stipulations of the match referee. In the Aussie context, dropping Ponting as captain means dropping him from the team full stop. We have no history in the last few generations of players of having former (substantive) captains in the team - or of captains going before the time of their choosing.

In this particular circumstance, there's no obvious replacement, and Ponting has a phenomenal record in terms of results, and would be highly unlikely to be happy to play without the captaincy. Looking forward to the public tearing of hair-hats and gnashing of teeth at the inequities and cruelty of the over-rate regime, along with snipes at Broad and probably Dhoni (for reasons that elude me know, but will no doubt make sense to him when he comes to co-write Captain's Diary 08-09), to explain why he did this.

 

[dontcloseyoureyes]

Given that description, Im suprised he plays FC in Aus at all.

He doesn't, barely turns out for Tassie AFAIK.

 

[Prince EWS]

Given that description, Im suprised he plays FC in Aus at all.

Basically he is an inaccurate, slow, straight break bowler that attacks but doesnt take wickets and gets battered around the field.

Sounds like a winner

Well he does take wickets just through beating batsmen in flight etc. His First Class average is representative of the threat he offers in the Sheffield Shield though - he basically gets picked for development rather than because his selection is in the best interests of Tasmania.

I'm not sure his description as a "straight break bowler" is really apt, however - he turns it about as much can as a finger spinner - the pitches just don't take any turn about 90% of the time.

 

[andyc]

Ponting has to be sacked, his captaincy was always average but his atrocious tat tics more or less have gone unnoticed due to the kind of players he has had, but with Australia now going through a transition period Australia need a better captain who could drive the best out of each of his players, the best thing to do would be to ask Warne to comeback and lead the Aussie test side, and give the ODI captaincy to Clarke.

If Warne doesn't comeback then i think it would be worth it to hand over the reigns of the side to Clarke, whatever little i have seen of him as captain he has been decent, but i don't think Clarke stature as a player is yet as high as what you expect an Australian captain' stature to be, but still i think he would do better job then Ponting.

Ponting is great player, but being a great player don't necessarily turn you into a great captain, and i think his time as captain is over, but realistically speaking i seriously doubt he would be stripped of his captaincy for as long as he plays.

That's near on the silliest idea I've heard; not only has Warne flat out said he's not coming back to international cricket, but if CA didn't give him the captaincy in the first place, why would they do it now, given that he's had just as many scandals, hasn't played a real game in ages, will only be around the team for another year or two tops, while his very presence in the team would stop any (vague) hope of a decent young spinner getting exposure at the international level.

 

[Jono]

The difference being that Warne had probably shown that he was an exception by then. I remember Ravi Shastri being interviewed about the game in a Warne tribute programme and saying 'He could have bowled much worse and got 5 wickets.' As far as I know, Krejza hasn't shown himself to be an exceptional bowler.

Nowadays you don't have to be an 'exceptional' bowled to make the Australian team though, at least when it comes to being a spin bowler.

Its a reality that people have to get used to.

On top of that, considering White was technically the front-line spinner for the first three tests, Krezja's not even the worst selection of the series! White will probably be a good batsman (has age on his side and already experienced as captain, still reckon many fellow Victorians overrate him though), but Australia choosing him as spinner is one of the worst selections I've ever witnessed.

 

[four_or_six]

If Ponting is struggling this much with over rates, and Chappelli was saying he was the main offender due to the amount of time he spends talking to bowlers, then why haven't some of the senior players, say Ponting, Clarke, Hussey, Nielsen, got together and nominated a couple of the batsmen to be in charge of getting everyone else into place as fast as possible and help Ponting out? Surely it's not that complicated.

 

[Prince EWS]

If Ponting is struggling this much with over rates, and Chappelli was saying he was the main offender due to the amount of time he spends talking to bowlers, then why haven't some of the senior players, say Ponting, Clarke, Hussey, Nielsen, got together and nominated a couple of the batsmen to be in charge of getting everyone else into place as fast as possible and help Ponting out? Surely it's not that complicated.

Yeah, as much as I hate to actually make a post about over-rates, it's been an ongoing issue this series - you'd think they'd have it sorted by now. I could understand it when the pace bowlers were bowling so many overs, but Krejza has almost bowled unchanged from one end all game so it's not just the balance of the team. Someone needs to be the arsehole and take up the Precambrian role in the camp.

 

[Matt79]

i lol'd

 

[Jono]

Say what you want about Precambrian, the fact is he's the Nostradamus of this overrate fiasco!

 

[four_or_six]

I think they miss JL. JL would walk out with a concussion and risk his health to win a dead-rubber. I reckon he would have sorted this rubbish out.

 

[GIMH]

In Test Cricket, the current match is generally more important than the next (dead games excluded etc). For that reason, Ponting's tactics today have been very, very poor and inexcusable.

Whether he should be sacked I don't know. And I don't know whether it would make me more or less confident ahead of next year's Ashes.

 

[James90]

Not all fast bowlers have to come from Qld or NSW...

Apparently not all need to have proven themselves over more than one season either.

 

[Matt79]

Apparently not all need to have proven themselves over more than one season either.

Did he do badly when picked? Did his form this season provide evidence for selectors to consider he might do well?

The selectors are meant to select based on who they think will do well, not on who's got seniority - this isn't the old public service. They had a theory he'd do better than the alternatives and he did ok. Where's the beef?