Looking forward to the next Australian summer, the question must be asked: Can Australia win back the Ashes against England? I hasten to say, no.
The Australian cricket team have had a highly successful summer. Both test series were won 3-0, the one-day series against Pakistan was a whitewash and they have won the current one-day series against a sorry West Indian side.
However, previous to the current summer, Australia lost 3 out of 4 test series, including the precious Ashes series in England. Was anyone held accountable for these failings?
The selectors were given renewed two-year contracts for their efforts in selecting sides incapable of beating England, South Africa and India. Not a bad reward for incompetence.
And although Australia have comprehensively beaten both touring sides in the test format, the fact remains that both West indies and Pakistan presented sub-standard teams – teams which quite possibly would have difficulty playing against any one of the Australian state sides.
The lack of accountability, coupled with a lack of decent competition, has hidden the fact that the current side is incapable of beating the world’s leading cricket teams of South Africa, India and most importantly, England.
So, what needs to be done?
Firstly, Watson needs to bat at six. Yes, he’s been highly successful as an opener this summer, but against stronger attacks that move the ball prodigiously, he may be found wanting. It has been documented that he is susceptible to in-swinging deliveries, which have led to a high occurrence of LBW decisions going against him.
At No. 6 the pressure would be off and he would have more fuel in the tank to bowl more overs. Also his ability to bowl reverse swing could prove crucial. He could easily be replaced at the top of the order by Chris Rogers or Phil Hughes, both worthy of an opening spot.
Michael Hussey needs to go. He’s had his time in the sun and he’s lost his swagger.
Realistically he should’ve been dropped after the tour of England, but his battling century in the last test at the Oval saved his proverbial bacon. Also, the century he chalked up against Pakistan in the second test was extremely lucky – being dropped by a wicketkeeper 3 times in an innings is one for the ‘interesting facts’ books.
His newfound tentativeness in high pressure situations doesn’t bode well.
It might be early days, but Mitchell Marsh could be the perfect replacement. He may be young, but he has the talent to slot straight into the test side.
Recently it was announced that Peter Siddle has been ruled out for 5 months with stress fractures in the back. Although I feel for the guy, this is a good thing for the Australian side and he should be replaced by Ben Hilfenhaus. I know this sounds harsh, but for all the heart and guts he displays on the field, Siddle just doesn’t take a lot of wickets and tries to bowl too fast.
Mitchell Johnson needs to rebound to his best and if he does, the fast bowling line-up of Johnson, Doug Bollinger and Hilfenhaus could prove fruitful.
Nathan Hauritz, quite frankly, is a boring bowler to watch and would be largely ineffectual against a decent batting line up. For all the wickets he has taken this Australian summer, the reality is that he has been one of the main beneficiaries of tragic West Indian and ill-disciplined Pakistani batting.
I shudder at the thought of Kevin Pietersen sizing him up and letting go of massive sixes.
His replacement should be Jason Krejza. Sure he can leak runs but he also has the ability to take wickets without relying on poor batting. Steve Smith could be another potential replacement, who is also a very capable batsman.
Finally, and reluctantly, I offer that Ricky Ponting remains as captain – only simply because there is no one else to do the job. I’m not sure that Michael Clarke would be any better, and Simon Katich doesn’t have the political clout.
Ponting’s inept captaincy is highlighted by his poor decision making, weird declarations and poor body language. However, there is no denying that Ponting is a magnificent and tough batsman, and as such commands enough respect to be the leader of the Australian cricket team.
It seems unlikely that the current selectors will change the Australian test side significantly by the time the English test side arrives on our shores. I can only hope they prove me wrong.
My proposed Australian Test line-up:
Simon Katich
Chris Rogers
Ricky Ponting (c)
Michael Clarke
Mitchell Marsh
Shane Watson
Brad Haddin
Mitchell Johnson
Ben Hilfenhaus
Doug Bollinger
Jason Krejza
Lou
Guest
The hype around Smith is creeping me out. I'd rather see one of the U19's spin bowlers out there. At least they don't bowl, half-trackers for 4 balls of their over. In fact, I found it rather encouraging watching that Doran kid bowl, for a youngster he had a shit-pile of control. The fact that Smith can't bowl well yet, is somehow being hidden by his batting potential and his excellent fielding. I found it pretty scary that he was picked to bench warm in the test squad. What exactly is going on with that team of selectors? Bowl Katich more, at least he'll really give it a rip. MJ will probably always be disappointing now. He really is a wuss. Such a waste of talent.
NRL Fan Club
Roar Rookie
Ben Hilfenhaus will demolish the English this year. 5-0
Glen
Guest
Can I get some the stuff you're smoking!
Tony T
Guest
Jasco, Read here: http://aftergrogblog.blogs.com/cricket/2010/02/mad-nauseam.html
Tom
Guest
Yeah, what exactly is the fascination with Smith? Isn't he still averaging about 75 at shield level? People claim Warne's average was poor before being selected, but at least he spun the ball. Smith, as you say, barely spins it more than Cameron White. Someone I was speaking to the other day was waxing lyrical about his 20/20 game the other day; how are a couple of cheap throwaway wickets in a 20/20 at all relevant to test bowling?
Tom
Guest
I agree with the Ponting sentiments. It is all very well to criticise him for his captaincy, but the fact is that a lot of the games lost we simply weren't good enough to win. Sure, the three games you mention were examples of misjudgement, but I'm sure Waugh made similar mistakes that were papered over by the brilliance of Warne and McGrath. Fact is, we aren't the team we used to be, and Ponting isn't entirely responsible for that. We can't expect to instantly replace one of the greatest test sides of all time without some hiccups.
Jasco
Guest
tommix tommix tommix, youre right about a lot of the horrid mudness players we have in our side. siddles back injury is music to my enema, because he is one useless bowler. and ugly to boot. hopefully hilfy can get fit again because he is a star. hauritz is the worst spinner since ray bright for those that remember. krejza has been ostracised by the selectors like so many before him, but in reality, we have no frontline spinners at our disposal. i hate to say it, steve smith may be an allrounder but his leggies would get the same treatment that cameron "the fink" white got when he was wrongly given a cap. mitchell johnson needs to pull his finger out and start firing up, he lost my respect during the ashes. such a poor effort showing that he has no heart. as for the batting, it seems to take care of itself. i once loved phil hughes, but not anymore. i also hated fatso watso, but now i love him. but i agree, he is still not an opener. unfortunately, hussey has cemented his spot because of his irrelevant one day form. the selectors may find a few gems here and there over the years, but in general, they need to get a real job and stop wasting everyones time. hopefully, the kiwis will challenge and even beat us in the coming tour, so that maybe some heads will crack and some players will burn. we can only hope. but tommix, my friend, the ashes next summer will prove more than a challenge for australia. we will be soundly beaten and only then, just maybe, the necessary cleanout will occur. on your lineup, batting krejza at number 11 is an insult to the man. dougie the boll at 10? what were you thinking? p.s. the rest of these comments here are by cadavers muthas. all you narrow minded people can only see the inferior glory that australia has had this summer. me and my mate macca could have done better than our opposition this summer. you, like a lot of australian cricket "fans", quickly forget how unacceptable it was to lose those beloved ashes last year. it should have been no contest with the team on paper that we had compared to the insipid poms. real cricket fans know that this summer means nothing other than self stroking by the selectors and the cricket team. and before anyone says it, i choose not to use punctuation and capital letters so go suck a mangoat!
vas
Guest
what the hell have you been smoking tommix? of course we were going to struggle for a while. if you lose half your team through retirement in the space of a year, then opposition sides will exploit that. india and south africa did so. england won the ashes for no reason other than two innings where our batsmen had no clue against the moving ball. i wasn't a fan of watson replacing hughes, but like or loath him, he's told everyone who doubted him to get shoved. he's been assertive at the top and looking to play his strokes. while you call the windies and pakistan inept, both kemar roach and mohammad asif bowled well enough to suggest our wins weren't so simple. hussey could have been dropped after the ashes, but wasn't. he's found a new lease of life, and with the shaky ground marcus north finds himself in, the middle order needs stability. as for mitchell marsh, a few bursts in t20 and u19 odis are a different kettle of fish from test matches. and hauritz, what can you say? he's been our most improved player, and the confidence and body language he exudes is unmistakable. why would you chuck him out now he's playing the best he's ever played, and destroy his confidence? krejza has slipped down the pecking order. i don't think steve smith has done much to deserve the plaudits he's getting, but the selectors feel the need to promote a new leggie. Ponting's leadership has grown to a new level in the last 12 months. This is very much a team developed from his own style, and he shouldn't be forced to go until he says so. The truth is, we could do all the right things next summer, and still lose. Nothing is certain in sport, and with two evenly matched teams, the series could be decided by ounces of luck going a certain way. All I know is 2010/11 Ashes will deliver everything we thought 2006/07 would, but didn't: a contest...
Vinay Verma
Roar Guru
terrykidd,At the momnet Hauritz is the better offspinner but I would not write Krezja off just yet. I dont believe he was "lucky" to play the two Tests. He is a competitor and ,really,it is upto him how hungry he is and how badly he wants to play at the next level. Talent alone will only take you so far. After that it is the passion and the hunger. You are right that Hauritz and Smith look most likely and they are both relishing the challenge. If I were Krezja I would work doubly hard and make the last Shield game a big one.
terrykidd
Roar Pro
Tommix I agree about Siddle but you are so far of the mark with Krezja .... he was lucky to play the tests that he did. His form is so bad he can't even get picked for his state. Get real mate, Hauritz and Smith will be the Oz spinners for quite a while .... get used to it and forget Krezja .... everyone else has.
Tony T
Guest
"The lack of accountability, coupled with a lack of decent competition, has hidden the fact that the current side is incapable of beating the world’s leading cricket teams of South Africa, India and most importantly, England." But we DID beat South Africa. "I shudder at the thought of Kevin Pietersen sizing him up and letting go of massive sixes." If KP has one obvious weakness, it's his reluctance to take spinners seriously. Offies continue to get him out, especially when they target his pads. If Smith keeps it together over the next 10 months he will go a head of Krejza. Aussie selectors love leggies. Krazy is erratic, too, and recently dropped from the Tazzy side. But Ritzkrieg is there at the moment and unless a spinner streets past him, he's there to stay. Those aside, I agree with your post. Hats off.
Rabbitz
Guest
I dunno from where I sit it seems that it is and easy equation: 1. Take 10 wickets in each innings. 2. Score more runs than the opposition in each match. 3. Repeat this for more than half the test matches. Voila!!! Ashes won. Don't over think it. :)
Vinay Verma
Roar Guru
Tommix,Australia beat the Windies 2-0 and Pakistan 3-0. Your lead in paras say both series were won 3-0. The same selectors that deserved to be criticsed for the three series losses now deserve to be congratulated. They have brought in Bollinger,Harris,McKay. They have had Steve Smith on standby for two Tests and brought Hughes back for the sydney Test against pakistan. You could not fault them this summer. I take your point that the opposition was not great but the West Indies in Adelaide and Perth gave Australia a good match. In Roach they had an enforcer who troubled our best. Make no mistake Roach is up there with Steyn as a very good Test match bowler. Ponting has had a few glitches in his Captaincy..Nagpur,Cardiff and the Oval. This hardly makes him inept. He is the most "winning" captain in the History of Test Cricket. As an individual he has been part of more Test victories than any other player ever.Before him it was Shane Warne.For goodness sake he is the Cricinfo Player of the Decade. Ahead of kallis and Tendulkar. Ponting's declarations in Melbourne against Pak set up the victory. Yes, he has lost two Ashes series and 2-0 to India in India. Credit to the England and Indian teams who won the key moments. This is sport and losing though hard for Ponting, he conducted himself with dignity and humility in the losses. I would wait till the end of his career before labelling him a great captain. At the moment he is a very good captain and remains the only man to lead Australia in Tests and 50 overs cricket. Hauritz continues to improve and is ahead of Krezja. He will be the first spinner picked for the Tests and One dayers.Michael Hussey made the most of his luck and is not about to lie down for Mitchell marsh. Mitchell is talented and shows tremendous maturity. He may well play Tests before Shaun does. I am sure the selectors are aware of the success Mitch had as captain of the under 19 side. Hi is one for the future.