Ricky Ponting should be sacked

[Furball]

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

He's set his own benchmark with his form in the early part of the decade though. An average of 42 over the last 3 years is no more than decent IMO. Since January 2007, amongst batsmen who have scored at least 1000 Test runs, Ponting averages a shade more than Daniel Vettori and Ian Bell, and comes in below guys like Ross Taylor, Paul Collingwood and Chris Gayle.

edit: says a lot for how bad Australia's batting has been in that period that Ponting is still their 3rd best by average, although he's miles behind Clarke and Katich.

 

[Black_Warrior]

^ What about Hussey? Where does he rank?

 

[Furball]

Batting records | Test matches | Cricinfo Statsguru | Cricinfo.com

 

[Jono]

Hussey and Ponting's records are truly amazing, considering how ridiculously awesome they were in 2006. The mighty have fallen.

You can add Dravid and Yousuf to that list as well.

 

[Furball]

Hussey and Ponting's records are truly amazing, considering how ridiculously awesome they were in 2006. The mighty have fallen.

You can add Dravid and Yousuf to that list as well.

Not sure about Dravid, he was beyond horrendous for a while but has had a pretty good last year.

 

[Jono]

Yep, agree re: Dravid, but I just meant overall in the last 3.5 years. The sum of those players, compared to say their previous 2-3 years would be such a stark contrast. Truly astonishing.

From say 2003-2006 I imagine those guys would all be averaging 60+

 

[Cevno]

Surprised with so many Srilankans on the top of that list.

There batting has been good the past few years but nothing great as a collective unit for me.

 

[Scaly piscine]

Lots of dead sub-continent pitches would be the reason behind Sri Lanka and India having so many batsmen up there.

 

[Prince EWS]

Lots of dead sub-continent pitches would be the reason behind Sri Lanka and India having so many batsmen up there.

Also the fact that both teams have some pretty awesome batsmen.

 

[tooextracool]

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.

Im not saying he should be dropped. Im saying he should retire. There's a difference. I think if he wants to preserve his legacy, he's better off leaving now than playing while hes quite clearly past it. I have no doubt that he'll still average 40+ and is probably still worth a spot in the side.

 

[Furball]

Im not saying he should be dropped. Im saying he should retire. There's a difference. I think if he wants to preserve his legacy, he's better off leaving now than playing while hes quite clearly past it. I have no doubt that he'll still average 40+ and is probably still worth a spot in the side.

Failing to win 3 series in England will surely grate.

Win back the Ashes, win the World Cup and then maybe that should be it.

 

[Jono]

I'm never one for the "he should retire for his legacy". It all depends if he's enjoying his cricket/life.

However when you're captain, the debate changes a bit.

I believe Ponting should play on (provided he still enjoys the game), but not be captain. Unlikely to happen, but would be the best result.

 

[tooextracool]

In general, I believe in the idea that you play till you still offer something to your team. Ricky Ponting is a bit of a different case because a) I don't see him resigning as captain and b) I dont expect to see him being sacked as captain and still carrying on as a player. Theres a better captain out there IMO and given the above mentioned points, I dont think him hanging around as a captain is beneficial for the team or for himself.

 

[Jono]

Agreed. The captaincy point makes it quite tricky.

But in general I think one should play until they believe they offer something to the team. If they believe they do, but they don't, it is the duty of the selectors/coach to drop them.

No one should be forced to resign/retire though. Of course they can be given the tap on the shoulder, and be told that they will be dropped if they don't retire. But other than that, if a player wants to continue to play, that is fine.

 

[outbreak]

I think it's nearly time to pass on the captainship. I like ponting but he just doesn't have it anymore. I'd let him prove himself in the ashes, if his form improves and he can get something out of the team then keep him on for the world cup, if he continues to slump that's it.

 

[Top_Cat]

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.

Disagree he's an eye player, even against the short stuff he was always perfectly in control with a repeatable technique, obviously heavily practiced. The guy is a technician of the highest order and, tbh, part of his problem against spin/swing generally and against all forms of bowling right now is that rigidity. Has a fully worked-out, perfectly orthodox technique when at his best but in unusual conditions and against good spin/swing, has been less than good because you have to break some 'rules'. According to his brother, Greg Chappell was similar, apparently, too technically perfect to succeed in swinging/spinning conditions as he did in others.

Sachin has had to radical rejig his style and technique and his results of late speak for themselves. It's less pretty but his output is outstanding. Ponting will have to do the same if he wants to score big runs again I reckon. Should put the pull shot in the cupboard until he's faced 50 balls, for example.

 

[Burgey]

Who's going to replace him, out of interest?

 

[NUFAN]

Who's going to replace him, out of interest?

Chris Simpson, best captain in the country.

He can bat like North and bowl almost as good as him too.

 

[Spark]

^ What about Hussey? Where does he rank?

Ever since the tour of India, Hussey has veered between OK, poor, and plumbing-new-depths-of-direness. He was known for his consistency but he is anything but consistent nowadays because of a glaring weakness around off-stump.

 

[vcs]

Disagree he's an eye player, even against the short stuff he was always perfectly in control with a repeatable technique, obviously heavily practiced. The guy is a technician of the highest order and, tbh, part of his problem against spin/swing generally and against all forms of bowling right now is that rigidity. Has a fully worked-out, perfectly orthodox technique when at his best but in unusual conditions and against good spin/swing, has been less than good because you have to break some 'rules'. According to his brother, Greg Chappell was similar, apparently, too technically perfect to succeed in swinging/spinning conditions as he did in others.

Sachin has had to radical rejig his style and technique and his results of late speak for themselves. It's less pretty but his output is outstanding. Ponting will have to do the same if he wants to score big runs again I reckon. Should put the pull shot in the cupboard until he's faced 50 balls, for example.

TBH, I'm not sure Sachin's change in approach coincided with his improvement in form. He's been playing his new relatively circumspect game pretty much from 2004-05 (playing spinners from the crease, paddle-sweep, rarely drives fast bowlers on the rise etc.) but the difference is he's much more solid since WC 2007. Before, he'd look very tentative, go into a shell and get out (see dismissals against Afridi, Panesar, Anderson, Udal etc.) now he rarely looks like getting out once he gets set. It took a wonder-ball from Malinga to get him out even in the last innings. I really like the balance in his batting these days, doesn't fall over and look like an LBW candidate even though he gets lots of runs on the onside. I think his change in approach came as a result of the tennis elbow and back injuries and the results started coming when he regained confidence in his fitness.