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The Australian selectors sent an unnecessarily under-strength team into both Tests against South Africa. Essentially, in the second Test, the selectors have sent the Australian cricket team into a series deciding game with three out of form players – Hayden, Lee and Hussey – and one injured player – Symonds.
In showing little respect for a complete and aggressive South African team, the selectors have fatally compromised the Australian team’s chances of winning the game and prolonging the series.
These mistakes have been borne out by the performance of these illogical selections.
Matthew Hayden has received too many second chances and has not delivered. Rather than get his head down and grind it out until his form returns, he has chosen to play slashing high risk shots early in his and the team’s innings.
This has opened up an already fragile batting lineup. For all the talk of being a team man, Hayden has put himself first rather than fall on his sword.
The selectors have allowed this to happen.
Symonds is neither in form with the bat nor fit to bowl. I suspect that he is not strong in the mind, given his behaviour recently and public acknowledgment of his battles with alcohol.
Hayden and Symonds are both of an age where much younger players are waiting, fit and in form, for their chance to play in the Baggy Green.
In Symonds case, he is currently in a position, the allrounder, that has been outdated by the extra effort and time spent by all tailender batsmen.
Brett Lee cannot be faulted for his courage in batting and bowling in the second innings. He has relied for too long, probably his whole cricket life, on raw speed and intimidation to get his wickets. This leaves him exposed when conditions or his own form and fortune don’t run in his favour.
The Australian selectors’ greatest damage has been to Australia’s chances of retaining the Ashes next year in England with a potentially crushing series loss to South Africa and the failure to choose the best players now and invest time in players of the future.
All of this distracts from the other core issue: the leadership of Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke.
Ponting is a truly great batsman, but not a particularly astute or creative captain. Before the pressure of the captaincy takes its toll on his batting, Ponting should be replaced by Katich so that Ponting can just score runs.
Clarke once again showed that he is not made of sufficiently stern stuff to bat for Australia or captain any team, let alone a team in the rebuilding phase.
Cricket Australia must start at the top, drop the current selectors, and replace them with those willing to make tough decisions.
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