Ricky Ponting should be sacked

[Black_Warrior]

^ Yepp clearly age is catching up on him

I would like Australia to honour by allowing him a chance to win the Ashes back..and then ask him to retire gracefully from tests on the eve of the 5th Sydney Test like Steve Waugh. Then he can retire from ODIs after the World Cup next year.

 

[Uppercut]

Eh Australia lost by three wickets, whole team played crap, batsman gave nothing for the bowlers in the first innings, bowlers didn't adjust to the conditions, I didn't manage to watch all of the game so I didn't get a Idea of his field settings but in the past few games his persistence with Watson and North in the attack was a good move, but you'd have to imagine 9/10 Australia would have gone on to score at the least 150+ and Pakistan would have in turn lost, There a great bowling side but still only won by three wickets in the end.
I'm more worried about his form over the past three years, hate slowly watching his average waddle to 50 from its once brief and beautiful 59

Well, yeah. The batsmen batted badly and the bowlers bowled badly. What's that got to do with whether Ponting's a good captain or not?

Ponting captained the side horribly in this match. They might well have won, but his captaincy would still have been poor regardless. If your team plays well you'll often get away with poor captaincy, and if they play badly then good captaincy isn't enough to prevent defeat. So I'm not saying Ponting's captaincy was the reason Australia lost, I'm just saying it was ****.

 

[tooextracool]

Yeah I've been saying this for a while. Players like Ponting, who are quite reliant on their eye, are obviously going to be more hit and miss as they age.

Last 4 years have not been the best for Ponting, in all forms.

Yeah was just about to say that. I've watched him bat lately and he looks half the player that he used to be, Asif had him sorted out the entire series really.

IMO he'd do himself a great favor by retiring before the Ashes rather than after. Regardless of whether Australia win the Ashes or not, I think he'd do himself a favor by retiring as soon as possible, maybe even after the series in India.

 

[vcs]

Let's hold off a bit before writing the obituaries. He's had a lean patch over the past year, but hey, 12K Test runs should buy you some patience, surely? Oh, what am I saying, you're all right, let's cast him into the outer darkness where there is wailing and gnashing of teeth.

 

[NUFAN]

There is absolutely no way that Ponting shouldn't be in our team any more and I think he should keep the captaincy but get Clarke move involved. I found it odd that Clarke was out on the boundary a bit during the series..

 

[Spark]

There is absolutely no way that Ponting shouldn't be in our team any more and I think he should keep the captaincy but get Clarke move involved. I found it odd that Clarke was out on the boundary a bit during the series..

He's a good outfielder TBF. Better at point/slips though.

Definitely too early to say "sack/drop him" yet but it is time to keep a very close watch.

 

[NUFAN]

He's a good outfielder TBF. Better at point/slips though.

Definitely too early to say "sack/drop him" yet but it is time to keep a very close watch.

I know Clarke is good in the outfield, but he's good everywhere. As vice captain, with an ageing captain, I think he should be closer to the action.

Until both North and Hussey get out of the team, I don't think Ponting's place in the team will come under any scrutiny at all.

He really needs to move down the order, I think Ponting is too proud to move to say 5, but I wouldn't think less of him if he moved down, would you?

 

[Spark]

Absolutely agreed with everything in that post. Would like to see him at 4/5 with someone else at 3, but I seriously doubt it'll ever happen. 3 or nothing I think is the thinking.

 

[Dissector]

I would keep him till the Ashes ; would be too disruptive to have a new captain just now. While his batting has been fairly ordinary in recent years it's still good enough to warrant a place especially given the competition.

I also think he should retire from test cricket after the Ashes whatever happens. If he doesn't regain them he will probably be dropped anyway. If he wins, it will be a great note to end his test career.

 

[social]

I would keep him till the Ashes ; would be too disruptive to have a new captain just now. While his batting has been fairly ordinary in recent years it's still good enough to warrant a place especially given the competition.

I also think he should retire from test cricket after the Ashes whatever happens. If he doesn't regain them he will probably be dropped anyway. If he wins, it will be a great note to end his test career.

After the Ashes there'll be another series, then another and before you know it, it'll be the next Ashes tour to England and I can almost guarantee that he'll be goint on that tour

Basically, there's never an ideal time to change captains but sometimes you have to bite the bullet for the good of the team

 

[Cevno]

Both Ponting And Dravid ,two of greatest number 3 batsmen of the generation are under scrutiny at the moment.

Don't think Ponting should be dropped as of yet at all,as there does not seem to be a adequate replacement around. Perhaps they should keep him as captain until the ashes and then change captains,but still i would keep his as a player.
His next test tour is in India ,where he has not performed that well in his career. Would be interesting to see if he does not (though India's bowling is crap) will these calls grow?
I still think he could be a key player in the ashes at home though.

 

[Spark]

I would keep him till the Ashes ; would be too disruptive to have a new captain just now. While his batting has been fairly ordinary in recent years it's still good enough to warrant a place especially given the competition.

I also think he should retire from test cricket after the Ashes whatever happens. If he doesn't regain them he will probably be dropped anyway. If he wins, it will be a great note to end his test career.

I don't think it would that disruptive. Clarke has been around as a senior member and VC for a while now and most of them would've gotten more than a taste of playing under him.

 

[Black_Warrior]

After the Ashes there'll be another series, then another and before you know it, it'll be the next Ashes tour to England and I can almost guarantee that he'll be goint on that tour

Basically, there's never an ideal time to change captains but sometimes you have to bite the bullet for the good of the team

Usually, its better to change captains after the end of a cricketing season. So there is atleast a month or more gap.
I think Australia have that break after the World Cup.. I would like Ponting to stay till then and then retire gracefully after the World Cup.

I think he has never talked about retirement because he honestly believed he had a realistic chance of going past Tendulkar's batting record in Tests. I dont see that happening now. So he should kind of hint that he plans to call it a day after the WC.

 

[Spark]

No way is he beating Tendulkar. Not a hope in hell.

WC is the time for me I think.

 

[social]

Usually, its better to change captains after the end of a cricketing season. So there is atleast a month or more gap.
I think Australia have that break after the World Cup.. I would like Ponting to stay till then and then retire gracefully after the World Cup.

I think he has never talked about retirement because he honestly believed he had a realistic chance of going past Tendulkar's batting record in Tests. I dont see that happening now. So he should kind of hint that he plans to call it a day after the WC.

I'm not suggesting that Ponting be dropped as a player - he's got a few more years left in him IMO

I simply think we need a new man at the helm

 

[Craig]

Hasn't Ponting talked about going on till 2013?

 

[social]

Hasn't Ponting talked about going on till 2013?

From what I've heard, next Ashes tour to Eng whenever that is

 

[iamdavid]

I don't think it'd do the batting any harm at all to drop him down the order to 4/5 and have Watson bat 3.

1.Hughes
2.Katich
3.Watson
4.Clarke
5.Ponting
6.Hussey
7.Haddin
etc

I'm fairly sure we're going to end up with Hughes and somebody opening and Watson/Clarke at 3/4 once Ponting retires anyway, so it'd just be moving closer to the succession plan.

Can't see it happening though, it would come across as a concession that Ponting's best years as a batsman are behind him... Despite it being pretty obvious to anyone who cares to watch that his powers have diminished, that's not the sort of statement he'll be wanting to make in the lead up to an Ashes..

 

[Spark]

I can't see Ponting remaining captain 'til 2013. Whether he remains in a team is a slightly different (or I hope it is) matter.

Why? Because by then Clarke will be 32. And we'll need to start thinking about our next captain. This does not strike me as a wise plan.

So if Ponting wants to stay in the team, I reckon it's best for the team that regardless of his batting form he gives up the captaincy soon, as Clarke at 30-ish is the perfect time.

 

[Rant0r]

He's averaged 42 in the last 3 years, funny how high the benchmark is now set