As much as I’ve been hoping that I would never have to admit this, I think it’s reasonably safe to say now that Australian cricket’s golden era of dominance has come to an end.
Yeah, I know that’s not really up-to-the-minute news, particularly to sections of the cricket media who’ve been death-riding the Australian team for most of the summer. But these things take time to manifest into outright admission.
While still technically rated as the number one team in the International Cricket Council’s Test rankings, only the most patriotic (and probably now delusional) would still see Australia as the best team in Test cricket.
South Africa’s ascendancy to the top of the world cricket tree was completed in Perth on Friday night, with their 4-1 one-day series win taking them to the No.1 spot in the one-day rankings.
And ironically, it was probably the most one-sided match of the summer between the two sides.
Quite obviously, Australian cricket has now entered a rebuilding phase.
In fact, it’s a wonder that Australian coach Tim Neilsen – a guy whose contract was recently and quietly renewed for two more years despite overseeing an evident downturn in the fortune of the national team – hasn’t ran publicly with the well-worn “we’re now in a rebuilding phase” line of the struggling coach.
So where to now for the Australian team, and how long before we can expect to see a turnaround in both form and results?
While the calls for Ricky Ponting to be relieved of the captaincy have been getting louder, I’m yet to jump on that particular train. I have no doubt that at times he’s struggled this summer. But I think on the whole, he’s still doing a reasonable job with the cattle he’s got.
The transient nature of the team of late though, with injuries and players in and out every game, hasn’t helped his situation. I don’t think I can remember the same eleven playing in consecutive games this summer.
Three obvious situations need to be resolved: Simon Katich’s opening partner, the spin bowler, and the ever-troublesome all-rounder.
The opening spot seems to be a race in two between the experienced Phil Jaques, returning from injury, and the gradually irresistible weight of runs from 20 year-old Phillip Hughes.
I made the comment to my third grade team-mates over the weekend that Jaques perhaps couldn’t have got injured at a worse time. Since his back started playing up in the Caribbean last April, he’s seen Katich go from fill-in opener to top-order mainstay. And it appeared that only the retirement of Matthew Hayden would see his recall.
And now as he comes back from injury, he has to ward off the rapidly mounting challenge from his young NSW colleague.
Hughes’ mountain of runs can no longer be ignored.
After a debut season to dream of, Hughes hasn’t even stopped to worry about the “second year syndrome” this season, instead plundering his way to 800-plus Sheffield Shield runs at an average in the high sixties.
I didn’t at the start of the season, but I think now Hughes has to be tried at the next level.
The spin bowling spot remains the mystery, and sadly, looks like remaining that way for some time yet.
Incumbent tweaker Nathan Hauritz seems to be the man currently, and he’s also in front of Jason Krezja in the current NSW-Tasmania Shield match. Beau Casson has gone from Test debutant to Sydney grade player in nine months, and the kid I named as bolter some time ago, Stephen Smith, still appears some time off yet.
The resumed push for 36 year-old Victorian leggie Bryce McGain still concerns me too.
Whoever it is, they need to be given an extended run.
As for the all-rounder, it’s become the poisoned chalice. Just when Shane Watson looked to be secure after some good performances in India, he broke down (and I know some of you added “again” when reading that), and just when Andrew Symonds was resuming fitness, he took a phone call from Roy and HG while at the pub.
Victorian redhead Andrew McDonald will remain an option presumably, but I didn’t see too much in Sydney that suggested “long term option” (and that’s including his helmet flying off).
James Hopes might be worth a try, with his recent one-day form, and even someone like Marcus North from WA, who could also be a spinning option, might be worth taking to South Africa. T
he same could be said of David Hussey, too, but he bowls to many half-trackers for my liking.
Is Simon Katich, with his left-arm “chinamans”, an option to bat at six, which would then negate the need to pick either Jaques or Hughes? You could just pick them both.
I’ve said before that I’m very glad I’m not a selector, and that remains the case, such are the choices to be made. And they’ll only become harder with players returning from injury as the Ashes tour nears.
More importantly, the selectors need to be seen to be building toward a goal, which with the number of ‘revolving-door” selections we’ve seen this summer, I don’t think has been happening.
The golden era has ended.
Players, selectors, administrators and supporters all need to quickly move on, if the top spot is to be regained.
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