The Roar
The Roar

Advertisement

Buck stops with the chairman of selectors

3rd April, 2013
Advertisement
Chairman of selectors John Inverarity. Photo: AFP/William West
Expert
3rd April, 2013
84
1011 Reads

For a tick over four decades Australian cricket was superbly served by three chairmen of selectors – Sir Donald Bradman, Phil Ridings, and Lawrie Sawle.

All three had vision, and communication skills with both the players and the media.

Then came the chairmen clowns – Trevor Hohns, Andrew Hilditch, and John Inverarity.

Their vision and communication skills collectively would fit on a pin-head.

The two trifectas alike as chalk and cheese.

Sawle had a tough watch, starting with the retirements of Greg Chappell, Rodney Marsh, ad Dennis Lillee in the one game, the Test against Pakistan at the SCG, in 1984.

Jeff Thomson called halt in 1985, Geoff Lawson in 1989, Geoff Marsh and Dean Jones in 1992, David Boon and Craig McDermott in 1996, and skipper Mark Taylor in 1999.

Hohns took over in 2000 until 2006, and on his watch Michael Slater was sawn off in 2001, so too Mark Waugh in 2002, Steve Waugh retired on his own terms in 2004, even though Hohns was gunning for him – and Damien Martyn finished in 2006.

Advertisement

Hilditch sat in the big chair from 2006 until 2011, losing Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Justin Langer at the same time in an Ashes Test at the SCG in 2007.

Adam Gilchrist retired in 2008 with Stuart MacGill, Matt Hayden in 2009, and Simon Katich was sawn off in 2010.

If Hohns was ordinary and a hatchet-man, and Hilditch was a disaster, then Inverarity has been a catastrophe.

Inverarity (2011 to current) has been left to fill in the giant holes left from the Hohns-Hilditch eras.

All appeared rather rosy when the baggy greens went down fighting in their 1-0 loss to the top-ranked South Africans before whitewashing the Sri Lankans in a three-Test series.

Then the wheels came off big time.

From the moment the 17-man squad to tour India was named, it’s been a shambles.

Advertisement

Four Test floggings finishing well inside time, the continued non-recognition of Usman Khawaja, and on the opposite side of the coin, the recognition of Glenn Maxwell as an all-rounder.

Yesterday the 20-strong Cricket Australia squad was named leading into 10 successive Ashes Tests – still no Khawaja, nor Jackson Bird the most successful quick of the season, nor Moises Henriques, a genuine all-rounder.

Steve Smith isn’t there either, who apart from Michael Clarke, was the most successful Australian batsman in India.

But Maxwell is there. He is blessed.

Long-term injured quicks Pat Cummins and Ryan Harris are there as well, wrapped in cotton wool.

Ben Hilfenhaus is another impossible to understand contract, especially with Bird shafted.

And just to cloud the issue even further, Inverarity was waxing lyrical yesterday about the prospects of Chris Rogers and Adam Voges figuring prominently in Ashes discussions because they have a track record in County cricket.

Advertisement

Then why are they not in the contracted list?

I’ve left the best until last – Inverarity on Khawaja:

“Usman worked very hard in India and did well, and he will be well-prepared”.

What, no game in five weeks – well prepared?

There’s more.

“He’s strongly in contention for the Ashes, but it is a concern the lack of first class matches”.

And who, pray tell, Mr Chairman, is responsible for his lack of red ball cricket?

Advertisement
close