By David Wiseman
August 28th 2009 @ 1:59am
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Ponting will be remembered as a very poor captain
Australia’s captain Ricky Ponting gestures - AP Photo/Gautam Singh
Billy Murdoch has never received so much publicity. Everyone is now fully aware of the fact that Ricky Ponting joins Murdoch as the only Australian captains to twice lose the Ashes in England. As a batsman Ponting is peerless, but how is history going to assess him as a leader?
Instead of damning him, the usual suspects have rushed to his defence. Interestingly, Ian Chappell not only backed Ponting, but took the opportunity to take a swipe at Steve Waugh.
The bottom line is that whoever was captain was going to struggle given that the ins to the side didn’t match the outs. The assembly line of Test cricketers broke down and the likes of Siddle, Hughes, Hauritz and North was never going to be adequate cover for McGrath, Hayden, Warne and Martyn.
But this can’t deny the fact that Ponting is a bland and unimaginative captain. His field placings are uninspired, especially with the game is in the balance.
I felt this during Ponting’s first game in Australia in charge. It was 2004 up at the Gabba against New Zealand. Jacob Oram was batting with the lower-order and approaching a century.
For some reason, Ponting felt it was appropriate to bring out the old Mike Brearley field-placing of nine men on the boundary. Unless a boundary is required from the final ball of the match for victory, I don’t think this field placing is ever justified.
I think it would have been better had either Adam Gilchrist or Shane Warne succeeded Steve Waugh as captain with Ponting the understudy. This way Ponting would have gained more of an insight into what it means to be a Test captain.
He would have a better understanding of how to rotate the bowlers and what fields to set them. He wouldn’t be so quick to retreat to defensive field positions that basically concede everything.
The farce of Nagpur never would have occurred, nor would he have allowed the fate of the Cardiff Test to rest in the hands of Marcus North.
Michael Clarke took three wickets in five balls against India – surely he would be a far superior option to North? What about the lack of a spinner at The Oval?
Simply indefensible and giving North 44 overs for the match compounds the error 1000 times.
In the beginning of Ponting’s captaincy, he had the luxury of simply throwing the ball to McGrath and Warne. Those days are long gone.
The lack in personnel is amplified by the deficiencies Ponting has with regard to his captaincy. That may not be the reason why Australia lost the Ashes, but it’s one of the reasons why they didn’t retain them.
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(25)
Matt0931 said | August 28th 2009 @ 4:31am | Report comment
I agree Ponting is a poor captain but I also think he was teh best option at the time. Gilchrist has made it quite clear that he found it too difficult to captain the side whilst he was already manning the stumps and opening the batting and warne was never given the job due to his little off-field texting indiscretions.
Warne would probably have been the best captain Australia had ever seen but alas it was never to be.
I don’t think you can just blame Ponting for the player selection, he is afterall also making these decisions with the coaches and the selectors. I think we should be asking the selectors exactly what happeend with the Clark and lack of oval spinner debacle as I have a feeling it was more due to personal feelings than just picking the best man for the job.
Michael C said | August 28th 2009 @ 6:19am | Report comment
gawd Ponting bashing is boring,
but, it generally seems to eminate from Sydney too,
and that’s generally no surprise, because the NSW media never rest until they get hold of the next NSW captain (Border was – technically).
A fraction of luck with weather and umpires and Ponting would’ve won 2 ashes series in England,
but, he whitewashed England here,
Alan Border lost the Ashes as home!!!
(which is an element of ‘bragging rights’ that Chris Broad retains that his son has yet to earn!!)
FIsher Price said | August 28th 2009 @ 1:56pm | Report comment
Punter lives in NSW…
Dave said | August 29th 2009 @ 3:36pm | Report comment
he doesnt play for NSW though
Mattay said | August 28th 2009 @ 8:25am | Report comment
Warne and Darren Lehmann were (probably still are) the greatest cricket thinkers Australia had(has). I can’t remember the timing of it all, but I’m pretty sure Lehmann played under Ponting. For some inexplicable reason, Lehmann wasn’t an automatic starter, despite his God given talent.
Ponting should have learned a lot from those two even while he was captain.
Whiteline said | August 28th 2009 @ 9:22am | Report comment
Michael c – I’m not from Sydney but perhaps the whole supposed NSW domination debate that pops up regularly has something to do with population mass?
For example in Sydney I believe there are 20 grade teams and in a place like Perth there are 16. Already you have a system which in theory will produced a better competition (again based on competition for spots) and therefore a better ouycome in regards player performance. By the way, the players selected from NSW seem to have been pretty good over the years.
Jumping to the reference to Ian Chappell by the author – well what do you expect from him really? He always lets his bias in regards to personalities affect his judgement.
Mr Mac said | August 28th 2009 @ 9:35am | Report comment
Captancy is more than just on the field.
To be sure Ponting is a very average strategist & poor tactician.
The other aspects of the role are very hard to comment on as we are not in the camp or the dressing room.
mushi said | August 28th 2009 @ 9:45am | Report comment
A while back I had a look at Ponting versus Waugh’s records when they both had McGrath and Warne at their disposal, punter certainly looked the goods then. Yet we now consider Ponting is this lame duck cricketing retard and Steve was the embodiment of leadership.
Terry Kidd said | August 28th 2009 @ 9:47am | Report comment
When Steve Waugh was out of the test side, having been dropped, he captained NSW in the Shield and I remember reported comments from his team mates at the time to the effect ‘tactically brilliant’, ‘a real good captain’. He then came back into the test team under Mark Taylor who was a very thoughtful and accomplished captain, but not very ruthless. Steve Waugh then succeeded Tubby as captain and took the test team and one day sides to new heights, even when McGrath and Warne were absent due to injury. Ricky Ponting does not stack up against either man regardless of playing personnel. McGrath and Warne both had a great say in the fields they wanted when bowling but Ricky does not seem to allow the same latitude to today’s bowlers. Maybe he should think about that?
Ian Chappell has far more cricket knowledge than me but I sometimes think his judgement is sadly lacking, as in this case where he says Ponting is better than Waugh. Pull the other one Chapelli.
FIsher Price said | August 28th 2009 @ 12:48pm | Report comment
Chappell holds a grudge against S Waugh and wanted the drugs cheat to be Taylor’s successor.
FIsher Price said | August 28th 2009 @ 12:42pm | Report comment
He sure will; in spite of the cavalcade of mates/apologists who ignore the negative results and Punter’s little boy lost portrayal when up against an opponent that doesn’t simply roll over.
I seem to remember Ponting spending the first two home Tests against South Africa hands on hips, hapless.
But, hey, next up comes West indies ‘C’ and a travelling Pakistan, so I suspect there’s little need for a decent captain in order for Australia to record crushing victories there.
Westy said | August 28th 2009 @ 12:49pm | Report comment
Apologists who reciognise he does not have Warne/McGrath and Gilchrist anymore. With due respects to Bill the best leg spinner and batsman wicketkeeper the world has seen and Mcgrath was also right up there.
FIsher Price said | August 28th 2009 @ 1:04pm | Report comment
That’s true but surely all of Ponting’s inadequacies can’t be attributed to the strength of the side he captains, which was – after all – number one in the world this time last week?
Mushi said | August 28th 2009 @ 5:51pm | Report comment
Who’s to say that the number 1 wasn’t an over achievement?
onside said | August 28th 2009 @ 2:07pm | Report comment
There are two types of captains;one has great fast bowlers,the other doesn’t.
Clive Lloyd did not have to think too much about strategy.
Great bowlers,like a good coat of paint, can disguise a multitude of mistakes.
FIsher Price said | August 28th 2009 @ 3:46pm | Report comment
Viv Richards is not remembered as a good tactition. This doesn’t matter if you have an unbeatable side. Australia doesn’t have an unbeatable side, so Ponting as skipper is an indulgence.
onside said | August 28th 2009 @ 7:14pm | Report comment
A failure,but with more class?
Brian said | August 28th 2009 @ 5:06pm | Report comment
I agree Ponting bashing is becoming a yawn but you can be a good captain without a great side. Stephen Fleming and Arjuna Ranatunga are two captain s that in different ways got a lot from limited sides. Graeme Smith also doesn’t have a spinner, and his team looks about par with Australia’s at the moment but I would rate him a better captain than Punter.
sheek said | August 28th 2009 @ 7:52pm | Report comment
I’ve been following cricket since 1968. My first Australian captain was Bill Lawry. Those who captained in more than 10 tests or more since have been:
Ian Chappell, Greg Chappell, Bobby Simpson, Kim Hughes, Allan Border, Mark Taylor, Steve Waugh & Ricky Ponting.
That’s 9 major captains in 40 years – a special breed!
Here’s my take on each of them.
Bill Lawry – talented, dour & obstinate opening batsman, good fielder but conservative, dull, obstinate leader.
Ian Chappell – okay batsman but utterly dependable in a crisis. Brilliant slip fielder & combative, inspirational leader who led from the front on the field, & stood up for his men off the field.
Greg Chappell – brilliant, stylish bat & allround, athletic fielder. Also useful medium pacer. A good rather than great captain, certainly not in his brother’s class as a leader.
Kim Hughes – exciting, impulsive batter & excellent fielder. Also an impulsive captain, too skittish & unpredictable. However, he didn’t deserve to be placed in the intolerable position he found himself in.
Bobby Simpson – this was his second stint, coming out of retirement due WSC. Wonderful opening bat, unrivaled slip fielder & dangerous if expensive leggie. As a captain, largely conservative but a strong disciplinarian.
Allan Border – obdurate, courageous batter. A reluctant leader, but utterly reliable in a crisis. Answered his nation’s call in its hour of need. Although conservative, inspirational through personal example.
Mark Taylor – talented but colourless opening bat. Brilliant slip fielder. The most tactically astute captain of this group, but compromised this with a lack of killer instinct.
Steve Waugh – totally re-invented himself as an utterly dependable batsman. Brilliant point/gully fielder & above average medium pacer. As a captain was totally ruthless, perhaps more so than Bradman. I don’t think he was as tactically astute as some may suggest. He covered any tactical naivety with his ruthlessness. Plus he had the Aussie team at its absolute peak.
Ricky Ponting – best batsman we’ve had after Bradman, & a brilliant, athletic fielder. His captaincy is solid rather than brilliant, but I don’t see that necessarily as a negative.
I read once that Australian cricket has never had a bad leader, just good, better & best (to borrow a popular beer jingle). It’s the same, I imagine, as being president of the USA. You may not be the best, but you sure as hell are special in your own way.
I would also say it’s like being selected to become an astonaut. Ricky Ponting was appointed Australian cricket captain – he was recognised as having the “right stuff”!
“Australian cricket captain”………. I salute them all!
Hansie said | August 28th 2009 @ 9:05pm | Report comment
Ponting is a poor captain. Losing the Ashes twice sums it up. He’s also lost a one-day match to Bangladesh and a 20-20 match to Zimbabwe. He has taken Australia from the highs to the lows. Bowling White at the death in India and North at the death in Cardiff shows his tactical naivety.
sheek said | August 28th 2009 @ 10:35pm | Report comment
Hansie,
That’s crap. It’s easy to blame a captain, but it takes more than one person to lose a series. A captain, like a coach, doesn’t always have the advantage of quality in his team.
Besides, both series (05 & 09) were lost by the narrowest of margins. Blaming Ponting is easy, but not necessarily the observation of a wise person.
Will said | August 30th 2009 @ 6:49am | Report comment
Ponting bashing is getting boring – its like listening to a broken record player. If Ponting only has a good win-loss ratio due to the likes of McGrath and Warne then surely the same criteria must be applied to Steve Waugh?
The 9 fielders on the boundary tactic was used by Steve Waugh as well, I remember him using it on multiple occasions. Off the top of my head I remember him using it in 1999 against the Windies, again in 2000 against the windies and again in 2001 against SA. Thats just off the top of my head as well.
Anyone remember how Waugh went when Warne and McGrath weren’t in the side? India racked up 700 against us at the SCG. We also managed to lose to India at Adelaide after we racked up 400 in one day. We lost to England as well in 2002 at the SCG without Warne and McGrath. Fact is, on the rare occasions Steve Waugh didnt have the services of Warne and McGrath, he also struggled and the team mostly lost.
Ponting isnt our best ever captain tactically, but I agree with Ian Chappell, for mine he is on the whole a better on field captain and off field leader then Waugh was. Ponting is just the unfortunate one who has to deal with the team losing a lot of good players while those before him like Waugh and Taylor were lucky enough to serve out their entire captainicy careers with those players at hand.
On the whole I think Ponting has done that fairly well after Warne and McGrath retired, if you look at this objectively and with logic.
Our batting lost us this Ashes series, not the captainicy.
Ponting bashing is tiresome, if you dont rate his captainicy then fine, but dont use examples to justify your point (like the men on the boundary issue) when a previous captain in Waugh also employed the same tactics the said author is against.
Ponting I suspect is one of those players that we won’t realise how much we miss until he retires, both as a captain and as a batsmen.
If your not man enough to accept losing without making weak excuses about captainicy then dont follow cricket. Because in a 2 horse race, your going to win some and lose some. Learn to lose without witch hunting – reminds me of a good old English trait.
Dave said | August 30th 2009 @ 1:14pm | Report comment
Ian Chappell thinks Ponting is better than Steve Waugh
http://cricketnext.in.com/news/chappell-rates-ponting-better-than-waugh/43442-13.html
Viscount Crouchback said | August 30th 2009 @ 1:26pm | Report comment
Indeed.
And at least Ponting isn’t an absurd self-propagandist like Waugh was. Ponting has occasionally let himself down as Captain, but only ever in the heat of the moment. Waugh devised an entire ethos (if such a term can be used for so dubious a strategem) based upon grotesque sledging and vile abuse of the opposition.
Ponting’s impact upon cricket has been mostly positive. Waugh’s was almost entirely negative.
whiteline said | August 30th 2009 @ 11:07pm | Report comment
Viscount – big call champ. Obviously know S.Waugh personally. Played a bit yourself too by the sounds of it.