The silent killer of Aussie cricket

Totally agree there are much bigger issues with Australian cricket than the selection panel and T20, scheduling, and pitches are some of them. Still think Hohns should not be a current selector just the same.

PeteB, Blaming Hohns is so easy. Looking deeper for long-seated structural problems that contribute to current morass takes effort. Read Greg Chappell's article above, that i have sent to Bernie to read. In fact, good reading for anyone. T20, via BBL, is a contributing factor. The short form game requires different set skills, both mental as well as physical. By playing BBL at same time as tests is crazy. Sooner of later, CA will have to decide if the short-term profit chase that BBL provides, is worth the long-term killing off of test cricket & Sheffield Shield. Because this is precisely what will happen. Fewer & fewer players are possessing the skills for red ball cricket. Equally worrying, fewer & fewer players don't care that they don't have those skills. Making money from numerous T20 comps is too easy. The most significant skill in shortened cricket is explosive athleticism. Being able to build an innings as a batsman, or work a batsman out as a bowler, is becoming less relevant. It's all wham, bam, thank you ma'am. Technology has made us become more mute. We rely less on instincts & are guided as if we're robotics ourselves. The Melbourne Cup, like test cricket, is a modern day anachronism. The local breeding industry is now incapable of breeding stayers, basically because it's easier, & requires less patience, to breed sprinters. Only overseas stayers keep the Melbourne Cup relevant. It will soon become extinct, unless it reduces its distance from 3200m to 2000m. The Melbourne Cup is already less relevant because it has fewer local horses running in it. Likewise, test cricket will become extinct, because future players will play it so poorly, it will naturally turn fans away. We probably get what we deserve.

Bernie, For you. Greg Chappell's article weekend just gone. The Big Bash has begun and so has the summer bashing season: bash the selectors, bash the players, bash the umpires, bash the DRS, bash the ICC, bash anyone you can think of - because we have lost a Test match, for goodness sake. All of the above will be copping enough, so let me find a topic to bash that no one else has laid a glove on. The SCG has been given the green light to host the New Year's test despite COVID-19 concerns. Manchester City tear Chelsea apart at Stamford Bridge Then someone, or a group of people really, decided that we should have full-time professional cricketers who did nothing other than play and practise cricket and have lattes while they waited around for their next training session or game. Those of us who had experienced a bit of life - and had even played some professional cricket in England - said ‘be careful, full-time professionalism isn’t all that it is cracked up to be’. Donald Bradman told me once that, “when sport becomes a business, it loses something”. He knew his stuff, The Don. Sitting around waiting for the next game can actually be quite stressful, especially if you haven’t made any runs, or taken any wickets, or have been hit on the head, or not selected for a meaningful game of anything for a while. More so if you have a few mates who are in the same boat and have an axe to grind against somebody or something and can join you in a pity party or two. Just thinking about cricket 24/7 can do your head in, so a few wise old heads said, “OK, if you think we need a professional system, at least make it uniquely Australian, don’t copy the flawed county system of England”. The English system rewards mediocrity and encourages players past their peak to focus on their next contract, rather than improving their skill-set. For some of these “journeymen”, having a contract was almost more important than getting a game! When you looked at most county teams, you saw a few players who had played Test cricket, but many who were unlikely to. Occasionally, you saw a talented player who might have a future Test career. Across 18 county teams, there could be about a dozen potential England players. 'Promising youngsters are in limbo in their home states, missing out on the challenges they require now, rather than in a year or two.' According to the wise men, Australia would be better off putting in place a system that rewarded performance. Currently, we are taking youngsters straight out of school and putting them into a complacent cricket bubble. This prevents them from gaining work and life experiences or pursuing further studies. They are cloistered with similar escapees from the real world, where they are more likely to pick up bad habits. If we don’t develop these youngsters as people, we will not develop them as cricketers. It would be better to pay them a nominal contract fee that encourages them to pursue their cricket, along with a part-time job and/or further education. Once established as regulars in their state teams, they would earn an upgrade to their apprentice-like, basic contract. The Big Bash then becomes a lucrative summer job for the rookies and a boost to the superannuation for the experienced ones. This way, those who do not make it to the highest levels can still pursue the game while developing the life skills needed for their post-cricket years. Having a wider perspective on life will prove to be better for their cricket and could minimise the mounting mental health problems. The best will get through the system in a timely manner and will earn the bigger money on offer. What this creates is a robust system for the ongoing development of emerging players and offers big rewards for those who go on to the highest levels, or have sterling personal skills to lead the next generation. It also creates a self-cleansing mechanism that moves players on if they don’t meet the above criteria. It will also present regular vacancies for the next generation of players. In stark contrast to England’s 18 county teams, we only have six state teams, which I think is two less than ideal given our population is six times larger, than when the competition began. We simply don’t have enough places for blooding the players of the future, as most of the slots tend to go to experienced ones. Currently, promising youngsters are in limbo in their home states, missing out on the vital challenges they require now, rather than in a year or two. Luckily, we have a pretty robust pathway, (or, we did until COVID-19 laid it to waste), so we have more than a dozen emerging stars in the system: From Western Australia we have all-rounder Aaron Hardie and Josh Philippe, a dashing keeper-batsman. Victoria has a handful: Mackenzie Harvey and Jake Fraser-McGurk, both exciting batting prospects, leg-spinners Will Parker and Tom O’Connell, and keeper-batsman Patrick Rowe. Queensland has excellent pacemen in Matt Willians and Connor Sully while NSW has Jack Edwards, a tall batsman who bowls high-bouncing medium pace, Jason Sangha, a classy batsman and handy leggie, Tanveer Sangha (no relation), who has a lot of good judges salivating over his leg spin, Matthew Gilkes who has made a pile of runs, Baxter Holt, an exceptional ‘keeper who bats well and Oliver Davies, an exciting batting prospect. The problem is that none of them can get a game for their state in Sheffield Shield cricket, where they can encounter the challenges that they desperately need to lift their game to the next level. History shows that the only thing that you can pick up from sitting on the bench is splinters. From a batting and a spin bowling perspective, it has never been harder to develop into a champion of the long format. With the domestic season broken into three formats, of which the Big Bash is the jewel in the crown, batsmen and spinners simply don’t get time to develop their skills in the relative obscurity of Shield cricket for 10 games in a row. They are put under the spotlight and the pump, as soon as they appear on the scene. When things go pear-shaped (as they did in Melbourne) and Trevor Hohns, Justin Langer and George Bailey look around for alternatives, they are greeted with the same familiar faces. It must feel like shuffling the deckchairs on the Titanic. So, who wants to be a selector? Not me. Greg Chappell is a former Australian Test captain and national selector.

Bernie, I read this & agree 100% with it. Funnily enough, yesterday my wife & I were talking to my brother about the new car we were buying. Although the car came with rear camera, my wife wanted rear & front sensors to help her. My brother observed that the danger is we become too reliant on technology instead of trusting our instincts & judgement, as we did in the past. Wearing helmets I think, brings the same problems. While it provides better protection for the batsman, it also leads them into a false sense of security, a subconscious laziness that can backfire. In the days of no helmets, a batsman had to rely on good technique, quick footwork, instant judgement & wits. Not to mention good old guts. When I was a young fella, we had no mobile phones or internet. We arranged our weekends during the week, often at footy training in winter, or cricket training in summer. We sent notification of key occasions, like 21st invitations, in the mail. Nobody in the group was left out, who wanted to be in the action. Generally speaking, Friday nights were date nights with your girlfriend & Saturday nights social nights with your extended mates. We planned ahead & it worked. It's the same with TV technology. In the old days you accepted the umpire's or ref's decision. Surprisingly, they got it right more often than not, because they had to trust their gut instinct. They couldn't fall back on technology, which happens too often, far too often, these days. Then, when the Sydney to Hobart is on, I wonder if today's sailors can compare with olden day sailors of sail. I seriously doubt it. Today's sailors have GPS, radar, radio, collision beacons, depth sounders, weather systems, you name it, everything to help them move safely through the ocean. Sailors of olden days had rudimentary instruments, & the best way of preparing for a storm was to observe nature - the clouds, the winds, the swell, birds if they were around. Technology makes our lives better, but it also helps to dilute our instincts.

Haven't found it but that's ok ... I did find this which I find very pertinent. Have a read Sheek and tell me what you think. https://www.smh.com.au/sport/cricket/short-sharp-lesson-young-players-must-learn-fearlessness-in-face-of-bouncers-20201218-p56org.html

He did alright against other countries too. But yeah he loved putting Australia to the sword.

Hohns is over the hill and out of touch. I thought he was pretty good in his first stint but just as with players there comes a point where a selector is past their use by date. Hohns form as a selector has not been good for some time and he should be moved on for some younger more in touch selector talent.

I think you or someone else mentioned that before about the Windies humbling him. He apparently saved his best performances till he played against Australia.

Sure do ... thanks a bunch. You are the Sheek of Info Creek. Cheers

Bernie, I’m a dinosaur, & it’s been so long since I cut & paste, I’ve forgotten for the moment how to do it. But the article appeared in the weekend Sydney Morning Herald of 2-3 January, 2021. The heading of the article was: “States of decay: System creating deadwood and stifling development of emerging stars”. You probably have enough info now to google it yourself. Good luck!

Bernie - I agree with this. Perhaps the Windies rebels of 1982-84, vilified in the Caribbean, might have been the most important. Firstly, they demonstrated to the rabid white folk they could play cricket just as well, some of them even better, notably all-rounders Collis King & Franklyn Stephenson & fast bowler Sylvester Clarke. Secondly, they would have shown non-whites in South Africa, that given equal opportunity, they too could reach the pinnacle of their sport. Thirdly, ostracised within their own Caribbean countries, many of the rebels signed contracts with SA provinces, giving further weekly examples that non-whites could compete equally with whites.

I absolutely abhor the way Botham when commentating with Michael Holding he calls him 'Mikey' acting like they were equals on the field back in the day ... Botham met his Waterloo pretty much every time he came up against the West Indies.

Yeah fair call.

He’s got a great cricket brain though. So in the Warnie mould: full of himself, but offers some great analysis occasionally.

Yeah I forgot about bumble. He's awesome. Boycott in the Botham mould.

Yep, agreed about Botham being boring, doesn't add much. David Lloyd is my favourite along with Boycott.

Athers, Hussein and the late Bob Willis are the best pom commentators. Botham is boring as bat poo and all but openly barracks for England when on air.

Unsurprisingly they don't make great commentators either. Never enjoyed listening to Gower amongst all the poms, and Mark Waugh has never added anything of real interest in any commentating gig I've heard of him.

No he said he didn't (like watching cricket). A lot of those that say they don't like watching cricket end up being commentators which is also strange.

David Gower? Didn't know about that. I knew he went for a joy flight once when his cricket game was on...and flew low over the ground as a prank, but apart from that I assumed he enjoyed watching cricket.