The elephant in the room: Is Boof to blame?

Let's put it this way: If Arthur was coach, everyone would be calling for his head. Many are quick to defend Lehmann, but were even quicker in putting the boot into Arthur. I suspect Lehmann is not all he's cracked up to be. However, he's Australian, and that makes all the difference.

Yes, "Shrek" is partly to blame for the implosion. A batsman of his pedigree should have seen the lack of application in his men. Australian teams over recent years have had quite a few attacking batsmen in their side in the top order. The likes of Hayden, Gilchrist, Ponting etc. Also the evolution of 5/runs per over test cricket has been attributed directly to the Aussies. That was a great "invention" given test cricket - which some countries followed, with success others not. The only problem with that attack-minded approach and it is surfacing now ( especially with the likes of Warner for example) that the question should have been, "What do we do with the swinging ball." The Aussies have been found out - I think their Achilles might be the lack of technique against the SWINGING ball. England are preparing their pitches knowingly in that regard. It has often happened to Aussie teams of the recent pass - an implosion of the highest order against the seaming ball. They are indeed prone to collapses against the swinging ball. Newlands a few seasons ago - a case in point! Coaches should have seen it and addressed that, lack of technique - they were sucker punched in England. They should have known what was coming and addressed it even if to some degree. And the coaching staff is to blame. In adopting the attacking brand of cricket they have dispensed with, the Waugh approach, the Border approach, the Langer approach, (as examples) as though the cautious-approach to batting in the Australian sense of the word never existed. Don't blame Pup - blame the coach. What was Lehmann doing at the Liverpool-Stoke game anyway on Sunday? Is their not a job of a fifth test to think about. How is a football match going to solve the small matter of salvaging some pride. 3-2 is better than 4-1 isn't it?

Boof's greatest mistake.....allowing Clarke to play the 4th must win test, taking that defeatist attitude with him ( despite what Clarke would like us to think). And now....to allow Clarke to hijack the 5th test as his swansong....to pander to Clarke's ego that he too, would like a Bradmanesque departure from test cricket. Heck, Clarke hijacked the World Cup final a couple of months ago....why not now? And he certainly is no natural leader, otherwise he would have stood down for the good of Australian cricket, at the end of the 3rd test....and a sigh of relief would have been audible from plenty, including the team.

Yep. They never learn.

Fair dinkum how long have we been playing Test matches against England in overcast conditions using the Duke ball and we still have no idea against the swinging ball. It's plant the front foot and play through the line, well that doesn't work in England and if coaches can't work that out they should be shown the door.

I doubt that Steve Smith has learned anything since his failures at Trent Bridge because he hasn't walked out in the middle with Australia one down for not many yet. He'll certainly get some opportunity in the 5th Test at the Oval. Then, and only then will he know if he can control his nerves and play a relaxed innings. And yes he should captain the team...and yes, Boof and Rod Marsh are to blame for some of the predicament we are in. So are the players. Now Steve is no orphan. Dave Warner and Chris Rogers have found some form and some calm, but neither can be actually depended upon to have another century partnership at the Oval...or can they? If Michael Clarke plays, nor can he. Nor Adam Voges. Nor Shaun Marsh. Nor Pete Nevill or Mitch Marsh. Trent Bridge made all the Aussie bats think they are vulnerable…when in fact it is the conditions which made them more vulnerable. The only batsman in world cricket who has ice-water in his veins is AB De Villiers. Amla, Du Plessis, Joe Root, Kade Richardson and Brendon McCallum are as close to calm as you can get. The others are just human. Kohli, Cook, Bell, all the Aussies bar Rogers and Warner, Rohit Sharma and the rest of the Indians, all the Pakistanis, all the other Poms bar Root, Stokes maybe at times… all have been seen to falter when the blowtorch is applied. This is human nature when you are under the pump, the conditions suit swing and seam, or spin...and 20-100,000 people are baying for your blood. It takes rare qualities to stay calm. This is especially interesting now that the Ashes are lost. When we needed someone to stand up in the first innings at Cardiff, Edgbaston and Trent Bridge, no one could. That is almost certainly due to the conditions, IF YOU TAKE A LINE THROUGH AUSTRALIA'S FORM AT LORDS ON A BENIGN PITCH. In other words, pitches that do anything bring ALL Australian batsmen undone!!!!! With the future in mind, and trying not to LOSE, Australia will pick what it calls its' best 11 for the Oval. I don't care who England picks but you can be sure they will want to rub our noses in it. So given who is on tour, our best lineup might be Rogers, Warner, Smith, Voges, Clarke, Mitch Marsh, Nevill, Johnson, Starc, Cummins and Ahmed. Hazelwood looks tired. So does Lyon. Shaun Marsh is a big question mark. Pete Siddle will be considered, but the future beckons. The good part is that they have time on their hands...like 10 more days. The 5th test lineup is as pressurised a selection for Darren Lehmann and Rod Marsh as any I have seen! ARTHUR PAGONIS MANAGING DIRECTOR AUSTRALIA GLOBAL TRADING PTY LTD 10 HERTZ WAY, MORLEY, W.A. 6062 AUSTRALIA PH. 61.8.9377 3833, FAX 61.8.93773877, MOBILE 61. 409918874 SKYPE: apagonis2 WEB: www.ausglobaltrading.com

Generally, Warner's average is carried by the second innings he plays. I honestly don't really think he's an opener. It's usually hardest to bat against the new ball and at the beginning of a match. He doesn't do that well. I think he'd be a good 5 or 6. Probably excellent 5 or 6.

Your last whinge is totally unfair in my opinion. Last time I checked it's the selectors who decide who should play or not. So not sure how Clarke has "secured his spot"... Besides, who would replace him? There will clearly be a swap back with the Marsh brothers and unless you want to get really silly and bring Watson back, there isn't any option to bring someone in at the last minute. I think Warner has been lucky the middle order has been so bad - it's covered up the fact that his performances have been decidedly underwhelming. Openers (well, all batsmen really) need to get runs in the first innings. Warner's first innings scores so far are: 17, 38, 2 and 0. For an average of 14. That's not remotely good enough.

I'm surprised Pat Howard hasn't attracted more criticism. Since his appointment as "General Manager - Team Performance" (whatever that actually means?), the side has gone backwards. Even Lehmann admitted this. So, what about some accountability?

Even the home series victory over India wasn't a walk in the park. They almost won the first test and with a little bit of sensible batting, the young Indian side might well have levelled the series 1-1.

The whole setup appears to have gone to pieces over the toss of the coin. As well as Mitch Johnson went 2 summers ago and even the summer just gone - he just looked old in this series. The whole team looked old. Unfortunately, the accompanying wisdom seemed absent with the team's age. Our best performers over the series were our youngest plus Bucky Rogers (whom most people wouldn't have picked at the start of the series). You have to wonder though about some of the selection decisions. Clearly Harris would have played had he not broken down (always a risk) but replacing him with a guy that they have yet to trust to bowl a ball in anger seems a little silly now. And what was Siddle there for? Hasn't been sighted. I would have thought Ahmed would have been worth at least one match to see what he can do (might get in the dead rubber) but we persevered with Lyon who has been lacklustre throughout. And that's just the bowlers... I really don't know what to say about the batting other than what Stuart Broad had to say after he took 8/15 - 'we've just got to bat to the conditions and not push at the ball' - seemed simple enough. I forgive Dave Warner for his one idiot shot in the single match we won - he actually applied himself far better than most (unexpectedly) and he received probably the ball of the series from Mark Wood - unfortunately Warner was good enough to nick it - I feel the rest of the top order probably would have got broken ribs instead. The worst part is - apart from the ball swinging, the conditions in the last 2 tests actually suited us - it was relatively warm, the pitches were faster and greener and the ball bounced. My last whinge is that by announcing his retirement before the last test - specifically saying the next test will be his last, Clarke has secured his spot - when in reality his form warranted being dropped for the last test. His last 'up yours' to the powers that be and in reality to his team. Always the individual and never the team man. He had a magnificent career and some very special moments. It will be interesting to see if, in years to come in the Ch 9 box, he values his own achievements over those achievements he was part of as a team (even if he personally underwhelmed).

Most countries appear to have poor touring records now....is it because the calendar no longer allows for the proper amount of warm up games that previously took place?

Team not being United has more to do with Clarke and not boof, boof is the man we need at top

England have won the Ashes in Bayliss' first series....

Hmmm. That team doesn't look massively united to most I'd suggest, particularly given how personnel have been handled on this tour and the mindset of those picked in the middle. And in any case, it's about to blow apart, with very little evidence of true succession planning. Maybe Boof is about to be found out unless he can find another self-disintegrating team to whoop at home?

Not to blame but he was overrated in turning things around. This current team loses in foreign conditions against a decent opponent irrespective of who is coach. I though he got too much credit in 2013-14 when really Johnson had one of the best season's from a fast bowler I have ever seen. Certainly the best in about 20 years since Curtly Ambrose. Its all well to have drinks and a BBQ but after the 3rd Test some of our batsman needed to be read the riot act and you get the feeling that didn't occur.

Agreed Don, boof can't bat for the middle order, under him we won the home ashes 5-0, won away against SA and won the world cup and he has united the team

Possibly, but there are player personnel issues that need to be sorted out first. Fix that then reassess. "Don't throw the baby out with the bath water"