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Waratahs Kurtley Beale lays on the field injured during their Super Rugby match against the Cheetahs at the SFS, Sydney, Saturday, March 19, 2011. The Cheetahs defeated the Waratahs 23-3. (AAP Image/Dean Lewins)
The NSW Waratahs – tryless, listless, and useless. The Australian cricket team – leaderless, spiritless, and careless. A miserable daily double overnight, the Waratahs mauled 23-3 by the lowly Cheetahs, the cricketers swamped by Pakistan to the tune of four wickets, with 54 deliveries up their sleeve.
The telling blow for the Waratahs – the small SFS crowd loudly booing them off the field – humiliation, and deservedly so.
* It was the Cheetahs first win of the season.
* Their first win in Australasia, since they joined the Super tournament in 2006.
* In Australia, until last night, the Cheetahs had lost all 10 games, scoring 137 points, giving up 338.
* In New Zealand, lost 10, drawn one – posting 152 points to 331.
Pre-game, betting agencies were giving the Cheetahs a massive 19.5 points start, but they won by 20 because they played rugby – the Waratahs didn’t turn up to play anything.
“We didn’t respect them enough,” was Waratahs fly-half Berrick Barnes honest admission.
“No excuses,” Waratahs coach Chris Hickey, with more honesty.
Next up for the Waratahs – the basket-case Brumbies in Canberra – but on last night’s pathetic performance, the men-in-blue are a basket-case themselves.
How can a class unit like NSW crush the Rebels 43-nil, and the Reds 30-6, with 11 unanswered tries playing scintillating rugby – then succumb to the Crusaders 33-18, and the Cheetahs 23-3, scoring only three tries, and giving up five – as if they had forgotten how to play?
A dramatic, and inexplicable, turnaround.
Not so for the cricketers, the writing has been on the wall throughout the World Cup, on the subcontinent.
This isn’t a side playing like a three-times in a row world champions, and pre-tournament favourite to make it four straight.
As I wrote (The Roar, March 17), the batting is so brittle, if opening batsmen Shane Watson, and Brad Haddin, don’t give the men-in-yellow a flying start, they are in big trouble.
The proof was last night with an opening stand of just 12, Australia all out 176.
* It was Australia’s first World Cup defeat in 35 matches.
* And Ricky Ponting’s first loss as captain, denting his record as the most capped World Cup captain, with 28.
* The last time Australia was beaten was also by Pakistan in the 1999 World Cup – Australia 265, Pakistan 8-275 – at Headingley.
* Last night’s 176 was the lowest Australian all-out total since 1992 – Australia 171 against England at the SCG – England won by eight wickets.
* It was expressman Brett Lee’s first bat in a World Cup since 2003.
* And Shaun Tait’s first visit to the batting crease, in 17 Cup games.
That’s one of the problems, the late order hardly gets a hit, little wonder when Australia’s under the pump, they’re lacking form in the middle.
But the real problem is Ricky Ponting, his form is crippling the top order.
The skipper made the facetious remark after the Canada game – “I’m not worried, I’m saving it for the big games”.
Last night was a big game, and again he failed with 19, dropping his current World Cup average to 20.40. But there’s more to it than runs with Ponting.
He’s against the review system, believing umpires should rely on the honesty of fieldsmen if they caught a fair catch.
But honesty is a two-way street, and last night Ponting “drove” an edge into the webbing of Kamran Akmal’s gloves, and stood his ground, to be given not out by South African umpire Marais Erasmus.
Did Erasmus give Ponting the benefit of the doubt on the “honesty” call?
Pakistan went upstairs, and Ponting was obviously sent packing – so much for honesty, he should have walked.
Add that to damaging a television set in the Australian shed after being run out in the first game against Zimbabwe, and the petulant dummy spit when team-mate Stephen Smith collided with him taking a catch against Canada, and the skipper is on the skids.
Just like his team…