By Roger Vaughan
November 11th 2008 @ 3:15am
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Sutherland will ask Ponting about tactics
Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland will seek an explanation from Test captain Ricky Ponting over yesterday’s use of part-time bowlers.
Critics have panned Ponting for his post-tea decision to bowl spinners and medium pacers in the late session on day four of the fourth and final Test against India.
Sutherland was careful not to criticise the skipper, but said he wanted to know what prompted the decision.
“I haven’t had a chance to talk to Ricky today about what went on during the tea break and what the messages were that came from the umpires.
“But clearly he and (coach) Tim Nielsen, who are the leaders on the ground there in terms of … those tactics, they would have made whatever judgements they thought were most appropriate in the circumstances.
“Until I’ve really had a chance to explore that further, it’s difficult for me to comment … to understand exactly what were the circumstances that were involved, what they were facing, what the situation was in terms of how many overs down they were.
“I’d like to understand the situation, I’m not going to stand here and make comment about a situation without having a full understanding of what actually the circumstances were.
Sutherland said it was not unusual for him to want to seek clarification from Ponting about what had happened during play.
Asked if he was concerned, Sutherland replied: “I might be concerned, I might not be, it depends on … getting a really clear understanding of the circumstances that ensured we played the way we did after the tea break.
“It’s not something I do every day, but at various stages I see that’s part of my responsibility as chief executive, just to get a feel (for the situation).”
Sutherland added the post-tea session had obviously not panned out how Australia would have liked.
Australia’s slow over rate meant Ponting had to use spinners and part-time medium pacers to avoid a possible suspension.
The CA boss said his body would talk to cricket’s world governing body, the ICC, about the slow over rates issue.
“In a broad sense, I have major concerns about over rates in international cricket,” he said.
“Generally speaking, the public deserves more by way of over rates and that’s certainly something we’ll be taking up with the ICC.”
But Sutherland laughed off talk that Ponting should face CA sanction for yesterday’s tactics.
“I don’t think that’s going to happen,” he said.
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spiro zavos said | November 11th 2008 @ 1:50pm | Report comment
The coaching staff and thne leadership group in the team should be brought into the debate, too. The notion that a player’s position in a Test against NZ is more important than a Test win against India is simply not acceptable. I believe that Ricky Ponting’s punishment should be to be dropped for the first Test against NZ. Anything less than this, a monetary punishment or a warning etc, is simply not good enough.
The Australian way has always been that the team is more important than the individual. Ponting has violated the Australian way in a manner that should never be repeated, and won’t be if the punishment is suitably harsh.
Jerry said | November 11th 2008 @ 2:09pm | Report comment
Wait a bloody second, so basically Ponting’s being criticised for trying not to cheat? Oookay.
sheek said | November 11th 2008 @ 2:19pm | Report comment
Roger/Spiro,
I have supported Ponting in the past as a good captain, although I have little sympathy for him in this current situation. However, I offer the following observations.
1. I don’t believe Ponting deliberately saved his own bacon. I do believe he succumbed to pressure & clearly wasn’t thinking straight. His mind had become mush & somehow, retrieving the over rate loomed larger than going for victory. Not an excuse for him, but an observation.
2. As Spiro says, the whole coaching staff & leadership group need to be hauled over the coals. Didn’t anyone, like senior player Hayden, have the presence of mind & strength of character to say, “hang on, this is not the way we Aussies do things”.
3. Why hasn’t Brett Lee been lambasted for his role in all this? Not only has his bowling turned to muck, but he has made little effort to improve his over rates. Or is his pretty boy pin-up image more important to Australian cricket?
4. As Stu MacGill says elsewhere, there has been an inflexible culture within the Australian cricket team for ages regarding over rates. Great bowler that he was, McGrath was never in a hurry to rush through his overs, for example.
5. The Aussies, & Ponting also, deserve the criticism levelled at them. Losing is one thing, the manner in which this series was surrendered, is another matter. The whole team, & management, should hang their head in shame, not just Ponting.
A “couldn’t care less” attitude towards over rates for the past 5-10 years has finally caught up with the Aussie cricketers. They have lost more than part of their match pay, or having their captain suspended. They have lost the respect of their fans & become the butt of ridicule.
dasilva said | November 11th 2008 @ 2:30pm | Report comment
Jerry
If Ponting really cared so much about playing the game in the right spirit and the moral obligation of playing the game.
Australia wouldn’t be behind the over rate by 10 overs in the first place.
If the the only time he reacted to over rate was when he was risked of suspension well can’t you blame us for thinking that he cost australia the match solely to avoid suspension.
Bring Back Melon said | November 11th 2008 @ 3:34pm | Report comment
Does “spiro zavos” = “Spiro Zavos”?
Spiro usually spells his name with capitals. And his picture usually appears next to his post. And he is usually more diplomatic than “spiro”… slightly.
aLi said | November 11th 2008 @ 4:02pm | Report comment
Great pick BBM -
I am with Sheek, a big Ponting fan; as a batsmen i think he has proved to be a cut above, however as time goes on I am more and more thinking that his captaincy hinged on the brilliance of langer/warne/mcgrath/martyn/gillespie
tactically, the real Spiro Zavos did point out how defensive his field placings were rite from the outset I think maybe its time for a bowling captain in Australia rather then a batting captain, maybe Brett Lee. This suggestion is not as bizarre as it seems… thought is required
Chris GS said | November 11th 2008 @ 4:52pm | Report comment
Nice to hear Sutherland has concerns about over rates. Before he does the usual ‘what’s the ICC gonna do about it?’, maybe someone should remaind him that charity starts at home …
Rich_daddy said | November 11th 2008 @ 5:57pm | Report comment
Last summer, Ricky Ponting and the Australian team were critcised for playing “a win at all cost mentality” and not playing in the spirit of the game. Now Ponting has been criticised for playing within the spirit of the game. When the issue of the overates came up, it seems to me no matter what Ponting decided to do, he would be criticised. It is time the arm chair experts got off their soapboxes and gave Ponting a break. Australia can not be number 1 forever and we may have to get used to seeing them getting beaten more often for the next couple of years.
sheek said | November 11th 2008 @ 6:18pm | Report comment
Rich daddy,
That’s a fair comment. Punter wants to be careful he doesn’t fall into the trap of the father & son & their donkey on the way to market - try to please everyone & you end up losing it all.
dasilva said | November 11th 2008 @ 7:16pm | Report comment
Rich_Daddy
This is all about picking up intentions of ponting. I’m all for people following over rates. However why did he do it. Is it because he believes it is sporting and therefore bowl the part timers out of principles or something more sinister.
However if he did believe it was for principle then why did the entire tour Australia were sluggish in the run rate and only when the Match Referee Broad told him at tea time that if he doesn’t speed up he will be suspended for the next test does he suddenly speed up his over rates. This makes us think that he is doing this out of self interest.
In any case ICC should do something about this over rates fiasco
Have a minimum of 30 overs a session
every over behind the schedule should be penalised with 10 runs to the oppositions. HAve a time keeper to keep track if there is any distruption, time wasting from batsman side, wicket taken to account for other factors that may slow down the game.
If there is a rule like this no one would want to stuff around with the over rate as they are not willing to give bonus runs ot the opposition.
Rich_daddy said | November 12th 2008 @ 9:05am | Report comment
Dasilva,
I think you have made some legitimate arguments about penalising teams for slow rates. However in my opinion, it would cause more problems than it would solve. For example a classic time wasting situation is waiting for the sight screen to be changed. Now often this is the batsmen fault, but what if the bowler is bowling around the wicket to one batsmen and over the wicket to the other? This would mean the sight screen would need to be changed every time the strike does. So how does the umpire rule that one. What about injury to bowlers? If this is an exception, bowlers could start faking injuries so their team doesn’t get penalised for a slow overate. 10 runs an over for a slow overate would be extremely harsh and I think cricket would be worse off because of it.