The selector's will have failed massively if they think that effort is enough to stay the axe. It was a great team win in which everyone from 1-11 made a solid contribution. BUT that's the ****ing point. We showed that you don't needs 'match-winning' performances to win test matches, you need everyone making a contribution. Cummin's 6-fer was an obvious standout, but that was only really required because Watson was injured and Johnson and Siddle were ****.
Which is why Johnson has to go now, and Siddle may as well follow him. We're gambling on the jackpot falling, rather than investing and waiting for the returns to accumulate. Cummins himself is a symptom of this thinking. Hey great it paid off this time, and for sure he's exciting, but he's 18. It isn't always going to be nice and easy like this. There are hard days ahead and he will need to adapt and grow into the bowler that can perform in all conditions. What we don't need to is have guys like Johnson who could bowl a match winning spell, but is more likely to bowl a match losing one. If you want to lose your shirt backing long shots, go to the track. What we need are guys who you can rely on to chip in with 2 or 3 wickets almost every time they bowl. 4 or 5 of those guys in a side will take the 20 wickets. They'll each have their days out and get a bag, and sometimes they'll go without, but they'll always contribute something. Johnson and Siddle contribute nothing but 4 balls far too often. Their diamonds, just ain't worth all the rocks you have to endure.
The same deal with the batting. Ponting was once a prince who could score a century and win the match for you, but those days are long gone, along with the champion side he led. This 50 was what he should have been contributing for years now, but sadly has rarely managed. I think Khawaja showed that even if he's not going to score 40 centuries, he is going to be a much more consistent contributor over the next few years than Ricky will. Marsh has started in the same fashion (despite my ongoing doubts) and I've no doubt that Warner is ready to come in and will also make more regular contributions than Ponting will be able to manage. For that reason he has no place in the side going forward.
We've been hamstrung by Hilditch's high stakes gambling method over the past few years where he's stuck too long with underachievers as he prayed for them to pay out a jackpot like they once did, and random pig in a poke selections where some left field nuffy was picked despite no record to hang it on and then promptly discarded 1,2 or 3 tests later for the next fingers-crossed pick. The useless prick may have jagged a winner finally on his last roll of the dice, but that doesn't absolve him from blame for the wreckage he has wrought.
What we need now is simply to bring together the best, and most consistent First Class cricketers in the country, whilst moving on from proven failures, or former champs that have seriously passed their prime. Put them in a structure where they know where they stand and that uses regular A team matches to bring new guys up to standard and keep the pressure on the incumbents. No more long shot selections, or forgiving 10 crap tests because they had a day out 3 years ago. We don't need to find 6 ATG's next week. We need to put a squad together that will turn up every time, usually win when they click and usually manage to hang on to a draw when they don't because like at the Wanderers everyone contributed something and we don't have to carry guys because one day they might hit the jackpot and turn in a match winning performance.
