In the third Ashes Test in Perth, there was, what should become, a symbolic moment in Australian cricket history.
The Australians were up and firing thanks largely to their four fast bowlers along with Hussey, Haddin, Johnson and Watson whom had all made significant contributions with the bat.
Closing in on the kill, Johnson found the outside edge of Jonathon Trott and it flew to Ponting at second slip. The ball came at, the sometimes awkward, chest height and Ricky stayed in the squatting position electing to take the catch with his fingers pointing to the sky.
As it reached him, it started to dip and swing and it struck him on the outside of his right hand. Luckily, his fingers were pointing skyward as the ball ballooned out of his grasp and in front of Watson in first slip.
As the ball commenced its decent, Haddin was the first to react and calmly cleaned up the spilt catch, both saving his captain from embarrassment, and helping to keep the metaphorical foot on the throat of the struggling English.
As we no know, Ponting fractured a finger in the attempted catch. In hindsight, he probably should not have played in the Boxing Day Test. His batting must have been hindered and this is at a time when he needs his full faculties to help drag himself out of a deepening slump.
However, the counter argument rightly stands, who would have the captaincy been handed over to?
The heir apparent, in Michael Clarke, has clearly shown in this series that he is not up to the extra pressure of the captaincy. When he has been relied upon to help steady numerous poor starts, he has failed.
Too often he has been dismissed playing poor shots at times when the situation demanded a cool head and a leaders’ temperament.
The only players who have consistently performed under immense pressure this series, have been Hussey, Haddin and Siddle.
Hussey is enjoying the twilight of his career, a career that could have well been over by now, had the selectors been spooked by his uncharacteristic recent poor run of outs. Thankfully, they stuck with him, and he has repaid them in spades. However, the end is nigh for him, and he should not be burdened with the extra pressure of being captain.
Siddle is lion hearted warrior, who leaves nothing on the field at the end of a day’s play. He must surely inspire his teammates with this attitude and application, and his role in the team continues to grow.
He has now pushed Johnson aside, to become Australia’s frontline speedster. But, for a player whose position in the side was still up for debate only a month ago, he is clearly not one to assume the role of leading the national side.
That leaves Haddin. That ball flying out of Ponting’s hands should come to represent the captaincy. Haddin was the one who quickly summed up the situation, and was already on the move to calmly claim the spills.
Hussey aside, Haddin has been the only other player who has not succumbed to the immense pressure that the English were applying.
Now that Ponting has played, and lost, in Melbourne, he has put in jeopardy his chance to farewell Test cricket in Australia at the ground where he is the leading run-scorer in Test cricket. Cricket Australia must be kicking themselves now as the opportunity to fill some extra seats to farewell Ponting has passed them by.
Perhaps Haddin’s first Test as Australian captain at the SCG could be the other option to market this dead rubber?
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