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RIP Australian cricket

Anthony Sharwood

by Anthony Sharwood

04 Nov 05:58am

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Filed under: Australian Cricket Team, Cricket, Michael Clarke, One Day Cricket, Sport, Sri Lanka

217 comments

Oh dear. Oh deary, deary me. So I’m channel surfing on the couch last night pondering the inevitable demise of 50 over cricket.

Mourning the golden age last night. Picture: AFP

Turns out, I was penning a eulogy for the wrong victim. It’s not One Day cricket that’s dead. It’s Australian cricket’s golden era.

Look, obviously we all knew we were in trouble when guys like Warne, McGrath and Gilly retired. But hands up who didn’t think we could hang tough and rebuild this summer with a few old heads to nurse the young guys to maturity? Not now. In whatever format you care to name, Australia is now officially a rabble.

First the Test team loses the unlosable match in Mohali last month. Then, last night at the MCG, our supposedly #1 ranked One Day team cracks like a Christchurch highway.

If you missed the match, or made what seemed a sensible decision to switch it off, what happened was basically a reverse of what our own Michael Bevan used to do to other teams.

Yep, we done got Bevanned. Or to use another analogy, Sri Lanka Bradbury’d us.

Here’s a super quick match wrap. We bat like crap, struggling to 239. They bat worse, reaching 8-107, thanks to nice work from debutant Tasmanian off-spinner Xav Doherty. Expect “X-factor” headlines this morning.

At this point, the match looked over. Done and dusted. What’s on the box at 8.30?

Sri Lankans Lasith Malinga and Angelo Matthews delay the inevitable with a few swipes to entertain the large expat crowd. Then a few more swipes. Then some incredibly clean, mostly orthodox hitting until, Holy Dilmah Tea Batman! They only need 40 more runs to win…

Win they eventually do, with Mitchell Johnson bowling his customary bag of wides, Peter Siddle looking ultra-hittable and some bloke called Hastings looking every bit the cricketer you’ve never heard of.

All the while, Clarke steers the team around the park with the skill of, well, Ricky Ponting. So clueless was he, he actually asked post match interview smoothie Mark Nicholas for advice. True!

“Tough day at the office, Mark,” Clarke said. “I don’t know how we lost that game, to be honest. Have you got any tips?”

Funny thing is, I found myself cheering for Sri Lanka as their fightback gathered momentum. One, because it was fun to watch the big hitting. And two, because I believe Australian cricket needs to plumb great depths before we can rebuild meaningfully.

Meanwhile, with the Ashes imminent, Mark Nicholas made the very salient point that losing can become a habit. Kinda makes you want to plonk the kids’ education fund on England at $3.20 to win The Ashes, doesn’t it.

Oh, and speaking of Michael Bevan, apparently he sells home loans these days. I’ve got no idea whether his agency passed on more than the Reserve Bank’s 0.25 per cent rates rise.

What I can say is how surprised I was at the Commonwealth Bank’s oversized man-of-the-match cheque. The cheque was for the sum of $1,000. Surely they should’ve made it $1,045.

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217 comments

Show oldest | newest first

    • S.L says:

      05:47am | 04/11/10

      A common phrase used over the years is “it’s harder to get dropped from the Australian Cricket Team then get picked”. Last night that statement looked truer by the minute. Besides look at the bumper crowd! All I saw were fanatcal expat Sri Lankans ( good onem!).  I see now Mitchel Johnson is following Clarkies lead with a heap of art work on his arm, Is it supposed to make him a better cricketer? I bet their disproportionately high pay packets aren’r being cut!

      Reply

    • Somebody says:

      08:39am | 04/11/10

      Well said I think Mitchell Johnson needed more art work on his arm to bowl better. I guess they get paid so much nowadays that they don’t know what to do with so much money.
      I got a suggestion work hard on being a better player because isn’t that what they are paid for?

    • Brad Donman says:

      05:48am | 04/11/10

      Braindead captains who refuse to bowl wrist spinners is the problem. I watched the game and there is Richie Benaud pleading not just once ,but 3 or 4 times to toss the ball to Stephen Smith. This is standard operating procedure when ordinary batsmen are at the crease,there is no pace on the ball,so it places extra pressure on the batsman,s timing and power hitting. Clarke needs his head screwed back on,sack Siddle, Johnstone and Hastings and bring back some bowlers who have the savvy to bowl a line and a length.

      Reply

    • David says:

      06:47am | 04/11/10

      Or at least bring Doherty back on - he had the X factor last night: four wickets and a run out. Why persist with the quicks for so long when they were been handled with consumate ease.

    • Budz says:

      07:05am | 04/11/10

      Smith had hurt his back fielding. Don’t you look like the one that needs their head screwed back on now?

    • Tony says:

      07:17am | 04/11/10

      Smith was injured, allegedly.

    • Duncan Biscuit says:

      10:23am | 04/11/10

      Brad, D Smith had injured his back, Clarke said so at the after match interview. And Doherty had bowled his 10 overs which you should probably know is the maximum allowed in an ODI. And who’s ‘Johnstone’ Brad ??
      This does not excuse the captaincy by Clarke which was rather ordinary at best. Some observations - Had Huss been caught early on for 0 , that may have been the final nail in his career. Nannes and even Tait are better value that Hastings as he bowls big meaty pies. Mitchell Johnson - how can a bowler who has played as much cricket as he has not be able to land one on the wicket ?? Both Doherty and Smith are far better bowlers than Hauritz who should not play test cricket again. We are in for an interesting summer and the crowd last night (apart from the Lankans) was appalling. CA must be very nervous about the dwindling numbers of spectators.

    • Mick says:

      11:17am | 04/11/10

      I was so angry, all Johnson and Siddle did was bowl chest high bouncers which got tonked.  Not until very late in the piece did Hastings start bowling Yorkers.  Every one who has played the game knows if you get a wild cross bat swinger then bowl at the stumps with at least one Yorker per over.  Clarke should be shot (well at least whipped a little bit) for not intervening and directing the pacemen on how to bowl.

    • deb says:

      06:15am | 04/11/10

      Sri Lanka played like a cricket team,reminded me of a team i used to watch.i believe they were called Australia.

      Reply

    • rufus says:

      07:58am | 04/11/10

      Yes, well played Sri Lanka. They are usually exciting to watch. They back young players. Australia can learn from that.

    • Vaunted says:

      10:43am | 04/11/10

      Our cricket seems to be run by an impenetrable establishment of former players and corporate opportunists, viz the unfathomable hanging on to players who are well past their use-by dates and anointing of, when he was barely out of nappies, Michael Clark as our next test captain. Seems to me the only things they’re forgetting are the basics; if you want to win matches you must (1) score lots of runs and (2) bowl and field well, and if you want to please the crowds you need (3) to stop players acting like spoilt prima donnas and (4) play the game like it is a sport and we’re all having fun.

    • Harry Who says:

      06:27am | 04/11/10

      To think this was the team that I felt so proud of a few years back, like the writer I feel like barracking for the opposition on occasions and the comments from either of our so called captains…“we’ll have to do better”...well daahh. I know we have lost the cream of our batting and bowling attack in recent years, but what is that supposed to mean?....we are always told that there are others waiting in the wings to take over….where?.
      We need heroes, not Sunday afternnon pottlers. The only time I can stand Australia losing is when we have put up a decent fight….I don’t want to see Clark laughing with his crones, as we saw on screen the other night in the 20/20, when we were being creamed. We need S Warne and, or S Waugh directly involved, or this sort of embarrassment will continue.

      Reply

    • Chris says:

      08:28am | 04/11/10

      There were two run out chances I noted last night.  Both for Malinga.
      The first showed a camera angle with White in the foreground of the shot.  He was in line with the crease as the ball flashed past the stumps from Starc’s throw.  If Starc had hit, Malinga was out.  White was not involved in the play.  Not on a line to be backing up etc.  BUT, as the ball missed the stumps, there was no reaction.  How about pretending that playing for your country mattered Cameron.  How about being a little upset that a wicket was missed.
      Then the Malinga run-out.  Why was Clarke standing there like a stunned mullet.  Shouldn’t he have been making an effort to get behind the stumps and still care about making the Sri Lankans work for every run?  Can you imagine what “Captain Grumpy” Alan Border would have said to a player that did that, and he is the person selected to be the team’s leader ???

    • Matthew says:

      11:14am | 04/11/10

      Everyone was behind Ponting for so long.  I thought he was a bad captain way back in 2004 but they were winning at that point (Hayden, McGrath, Warne, Gilchrist did it all, Ponting just let them down) so everyone was happy.

      Then we lost the ashes….twice.  The team has lost all the good players and is trying to struggle with the few that were once good (Ponting used to be a good batter before becoming captain and Hussey).

      It happened to the West Indies in the early 90s and it’s happening to Australia now.  2 brand new players every season and if players start to under perform get rid of them early (and give them a reason to perform to get their spot back).

    • Swingdog says:

      06:35am | 04/11/10

      And you know that the only thing the Australian selectors took out of last night’s match was “Beauty, Huss is back in form. Let’s not change a thing.”

      Reply

    • Ian says:

      07:55am | 04/11/10

      Huss has averaged well over 40 in the last 3 years of ODIs. Maybe his test form isn’t huge, but we need him in this form of the game. Last night proves it…again.

    • rufus says:

      08:04am | 04/11/10

      One score doesn’t prove a player is back in form. It’s still true that Hussey’s best is well behind him.  Why do so many Australian cricket fans believe an ageing player can go on forever?

    • peter warrington says:

      08:58am | 04/11/10

      Hussey pottered around for 90 balls and hit the glorious total of ONE boundary. he is so scratchy his nuts will drop off. neck him. neck North. stand Katich down for aesthetics. keep Paine. play Smith. drop Johnson. don’t pick Bollinger. with the crap coming out about clarke today, and ponting and hauritz blueing in the media, probably time for a new skipper and number 3, too.

      just pretend it’s world series cricket and pick 11 new guys.

      that should do it.

    • Matt says:

      01:06pm | 04/11/10

      hussey is an integral part of our ODI team and his ODI form shows it. he will be vital in the world cup next year. However he needed to be out of the test side 6 months ago as he and north will cost us the ashes if they both play the first 3 tests.

    • BB says:

      06:45am | 04/11/10

      Clarke was wrong in saying that 240 wasnt enough.  Everybody knows that fielding is what wins matches.  That comment of his is a hangover from the BS they call 20/20.  Its not about runs, its how you play the game that makes all the difference.

      Reply

    • rufus says:

      08:01am | 04/11/10

      Surely it’s about runs, a bit, too?

    • Bobster says:

      02:59pm | 04/11/10

      What good are runs when you can’t take 10 wickets?

    • rufus says:

      07:36am | 05/11/10

      You won’t get to take 10 wix if you don’t have runs, obviously, genius.

    • Nick says:

      06:46am | 04/11/10

      Hardly the top Australian ODI bowling line up. No Tait, Bollinger, Hilfenhaus, not even Peter George. Johnson is rubbish at the moment.

      Selectors must resign.

      Reply

    • rory bh says:

      07:07am | 04/11/10

      its going to get a lot worse chaps! the next couple of months are going to be horrific

      Reply

    • Jay says:

      07:44am | 04/11/10

      It is time to sack Andrew Hilditch and Nielsen as they have clearly failed.
      It is also time that Hussey and Ponting be tapped on the shoulder and told to retire at the end of this season. Clarke should be dropped as he is just not upto it. Haddin is not far away and they need to blood Payne.The next Test Captain should be Katich as he has the experience and also has the mongrel in him to succeed. We have become like the Poms used to be, filling our teams with old players and mates.

      Reply

    • Kev says:

      09:00am | 04/11/10

      Yes Jay, We need to get rid of all the senior players and put a bunch of kids in the team. Katich is 35yo, is one of these “old players” you are talking about and is a Test player only. He is also part of our problem because he scores so slowly and keeps oppositions in the game. Your comments just show your lack of cricket knowledge. Dropping Ponting or Clarke is ludicrous however Hussey and North’s Test places are definately in trouble for Ferguson and Khawaja.

    • Stuart says:

      07:49am | 04/11/10

      Its the curse of the green uniform. Think of the last time Australia dominated a one day series at home….... still thinking, it was back in the day when we wore “Australian Gold my friend”.  Now I know that the boys are in green so it doesn’t clash with the sponsor, so it might be time for a new sponsor

      Reply

    • rufus says:

      08:00am | 04/11/10

      You’re kidding. That yellow colour is billious. It doesn’t look anything like gold. A player dressed in that looks like a canary that has vomited on itself.

    • Your name:Tom says:

      05:20pm | 04/11/10

      Serious Stuart you can’t think of the last time Australia dominated a ODI series at home? How about 5-0 and 4-0 against Pakistan and the West Indies last summer. You, also known as the last time they were at home.

    • Mal says:

      10:01pm | 04/11/10

      Stuart, I’d like to say that your comments are rediculous but for some strange reason you’re absolutely right.  At least we have a chance in our gold “away uniform” in the World Cup.

    • Jermayne Williams says:

      08:14am | 04/11/10

      I don’t think it’s fair to abuse the Aussies for this performance. I was at the game and it wasn’t easy out there. It was cold the wicket was slow and at times there were patchy showers. The lankans did not have it all their way. 240 in those conditions was a very competitive score. In fact Sri lanka struggled right through the batting. You have to give credit to how Australia restricted them to 8 for 107. What happened after that was good batting by a somewhat veteran malinga and a world class player Angelo Matthews. We australians stupidly believe that such players only emerge in this country.
      Stop focusing on Australia and appreciator good talent and world class players and you may enjoy and appreciate the game of cricket.
      In 1995 Arjuna ranatunga brought a talented team to australia and they just about lost every game to the Aussies. A couple of months later they beat Australia in the world cup final with the same boys.
      That is cricket my friends that is cricket!

      Reply

    • Joshua says:

      02:03pm | 04/11/10

      I agree.  It’s time for the Australians to realize that their purple patch is gone.  They did well with McGrath, Gilli, Warne and Hayden. There was a time like this for the Sri Lankans with players like DeSilva, Jayasuriya, Arjuna, Vaas, Murali.  After their era, it was more of a transition period for the SL team which took them about 3 years to build.
      Honestly, I witnessed a team win yesterday.  They looked Australian!

    • Baijid says:

      02:26pm | 04/11/10

      I totally agree with Jermayne the conditions were pretty poor furthermore the wicket was pretty slow. However it does not excuse the Aussie’s from a very poor fielding performance, I felt like they didn’t want to win. It was brilliant batting performance from the Sri Lankan’s although it was helped by shocking fielding & bowling by the Australian’s.
      Australia really needs to improve and people who cannot handle the pressure need to step down. I hope the Australian coach gives all the players a good wack on their head for their performances last night.
      Moving forward we have a lot of depth & talent in the Australia team we need to Nurture & give your future stars experience at a international stage & make them true Australian cricketer’s who deserve to wear Baggy Green.

    • Billyboy says:

      02:30pm | 04/11/10

      Maybe we can get the Sri Lankans to all apply for asylum. If we can process then quickly we will have them in Aussi colours in time for the ashes

    • Ben says:

      08:16am | 04/11/10

      Feels like it is going to be a pretty long Summer for the Aussies this year. There does not seem to be much heart in the team when things are tough, norkiller instinct when things are good. A lot of that comes down to leadership,and that is something that Australian cricket has been lacking for the last few years with no sign of a change in the immedate future. Yep, it is going to be a looong Summer…

      Reply

    • BJA says:

      08:16am | 04/11/10

      I mean really, you’re a little slow on the uptake. Australia’s golden era has been over for 2 years. You don’t stay unbeatable when a whole host of once in a generation players retire. It is also worth noting that the team last night was not even close to our best. No RP, Bollinger or Hilfy just to name a few. Lets not get carried away saying Australia are all of a sudden rubbish. Sharwood has no idea what he is talking about.  Australia are not the team they once were but you can’t dominate forever. If we put our top team on the park we are still the top one or two teams in the world. Back in your box Sharwood.

      Reply

    • ibast says:

      12:32pm | 04/11/10

      I’d go even further than that.  Australian cricket has been in steady decline since Border retired.  For years after that our teams success was built off of the back of the legacy he ground out.  To regain success Australian needs a captain that can see the longer term picture.  Our current captains expect success and are at a loss when it doesn’t happen.

    • Laurie says:

      08:16am | 04/11/10

      Australia has been on the receiving end ever since Johnson has been our main strike bowler. He must be the worst bowler ever to play for Australia. Line and Length is only a fabric measure to him. Dont they coach bowling anymore. Watson is always too short and bowls long hops. Siddle bowls too short. When batsmen are hitting it is traditional to bowl at their feet. Our bowlers wouldnt know that as they appear totally uneducated in the craft that they are purportedly deploying. Johnson cost us two ashes series and he is about to do it again. Oh the pain of it all.  (Oh and make Clarked captain of the whole world.)

      Reply

    • peter warrington says:

      09:00am | 04/11/10

      ahem. which two ashes would thy be?

    • Barters81 says:

      09:36am | 04/11/10

      I agree totally.  Why do the commentators go on so much when they see a ball swing an inch.  I’m pretty sure any bowler playing 3rd grade is expected to swing the ball all day long with a 4 piece.  Its disgraceful really.  Johnson should definately be sacked.  It is the same story as when Brett Lee was playing, if Johnson isn’t consistently bowling 150km/hr+ he shouldn’t be there.  He simply isn’t accurate, or good enough to get people out at 140km/hr.  There is that, and the fact I hate the fact he lokos like he is about to cry at any minute.

    • dm says:

      10:34am | 04/11/10

      MJ is the best pacie within the current crop.. bring back Stuey Clark, who is by far the most economical and accurate bowler since pigeon. both North and Hussey have had enough chances. time to bring in Ferg and Khawaja. these changes should have been made for the Indian tour which was a prep for the Ashes..

    • Tom says:

      11:56am | 04/11/10

      Worst Australian bowler ever? Haven’t you heard of Nathan Hauritz?

    • Jim Hacker says:

      12:47pm | 04/11/10

      That is the point Laurie, well said. And I wonder what Troy Cooley’s KPIs are? Whatever thney are, he is nowhere near reaching them. Johnson’s bowling is complete garbage and his batting has now become a non event too, ever since no doubt one of our astute coaches got hold of him and tried to make a batsman out of him. Disgrace from the top down. And what about the way Siddle was laughing when getting his crap smashed all over the place. No time for laughing mate and see you later.

    • Ben says:

      11:05am | 05/11/10

      Agreen Laurie. Bowling is an art form. Stuart Clark for my liking is the only current bowler who has the patience to know he may not get his man this over or the next but I’ll grind him down with subtle variations.

    • Ian says:

      08:17am | 04/11/10

      I’ve only been a park cricketer for about 45 years and not qualified to be critical of the bowling standard at this prestigious level but I’m sure Siddle and Johnson would have been carted by a few blokes I’ve played with over the years . I’m encouraged though that we have such strength in our ranks to be resting so many other quicks or playing them in Interstate cricket?

      Reply

    • Troy says:

      08:20am | 04/11/10

      Win or lose, what difference does it make? Cricket in is this country has become nothing more than a meaningless string of exhibition matches. I can’t think of a more confusing, meaningless product than what Australian Cricket has become.

      Reply

    • mw says:

      09:52am | 04/11/10

      Completely agree…

    • Nafe says:

      10:20am | 04/11/10

      This coment is spot on. The Golden years were when we had a true series against at least 2 other teams and i think at the time we even included Australia A for S&%ts and giggles. Now we have a poor series and no one even knows its on. Personally i forgot about the match last night untill i was channel surfing and caught the last 15 overs of the Sri Lankan innings.

    • Ben says:

      11:14am | 05/11/10

      The selectors are from an old era of “once your in the team you stay in the team’. These selectors have dabbled with a few new players but when they dont over perform they are out.
      Look at the English cricket team, if your in great form at domesticly we’ll have a look at you. Honestly I’m sick of the style of Australian selectors. It is 2010 if someone has been in poor form send them back get some confidence back. This shouldn’t mean if dropped thats it your out. Good form and your back.

    • Matthew says:

      08:25am | 04/11/10

      Clarke fail, Ponting epic fail.  Clarke should be dropped and Ponting should remain in the team as a batsman.  Hussey should lead the test series against the ashes or even Katich but No No No to Ponting and Clarke as captains in any form of the game.  Also, the selectors need to be cleaned out.

      Reply

    • Shifter says:

      10:53am | 04/11/10

      I tend to agree that there’s been a lack of strong, insightful leadership since ‘Tugga’ Waugh retired. We’re currently left with useless excuses such as “we didn’t play well enough” in a soft sombre voice after every loss. Picking the team’s captain then filling in the 10 gaps isn’t working as a selection policy.

      The onus is on the selection team and the coach to lift the side from treating every non-tournament match like it doesn’t matter.  Where’s the fire and the passion that the great recent players evoked? True, half the time they were sledging the opposition, but at least you could tell a guy like Hayden was truly into the game.

      Aus cricket’s dead. Not because we’re losing, because it’s become bland boring and unexciting at a time when, globally, the excitement factor in cricket matches is ramping up.

    • Clancy says:

      08:27am | 04/11/10

      This line in the article says it all… “Look, obviously we all knew we were in trouble when guys like Warne, McGrath and Gilly retired.” But i knew it was all over at that point. You cannot have so many critically important key players leaving in short order and expect to remain on top, it’s just not gonna happen. The crazy behavior of the team since then is a product of pressure and desperation.

      Reply

    • Matthew says:

      08:31am | 04/11/10

      The sooner the ACB get the 20/20 format operating the better. Our crickets lack aggression when it is required. We have the best pitches on the globe and don’t take advantage. Time to blood new talent or we will fall way behind other nations.

      Reply

    • Ben says:

      08:33am | 04/11/10

      Even if Smith was injured as they are claiming there is no excuse for bowling short and wide.  Field placements were negative and despite not having our best bowling line up, there is no excuse for losing from the position we were in.  I agree with Rory - the next few months will be a lot worse.  What has happened to aggressive captaincy and being imaginative when things are not working?  Clarkey you are losing support every time you take the field….

      Reply

    • Ben says:

      08:35am | 04/11/10

      Even if Smith was injured as they are claiming there is no excuse for bowling short and wide.  Field placements were negative and despite not having our best bowling line up, there is no excuse for losing from the position we were in.  I agree with Rory - the next few months will be a lot worse.  What has happened to aggressive captaincy and being imaginative when things are not working?  Clarkey you are losing support every time you take the field….

      Reply

    • Watcher says:

      08:46am | 04/11/10

      I think the problem last night was our quick bowlers, they spend most of the game bowling short ball after short ball after short ball, instead of at the stumps. As someone said it is hard to hit a six from a ball that is aimed right at your shoe, do our bowlers not know how to bowl yorkers any more??
      And to take nothing away from Sri Lanka they played very good cricket.
      In all it was a very exciting match

      Reply

    • mikeymike says:

      11:24am | 04/11/10

      Spot on.

      I was reminded last night of the time when the Aussies took over from the WIndies as the best team in the world.  Our batsmen would hit a boundary and their aging quicks would try to kill them with the rest of the over.  Forget line, length, strategy, deception or even thinking.
      Same thing happened last night.  Except our bowlers haven’t the experience, skill or respect that the West Indians had in their day.  Result? The ridiculous tail end stand last night.
      I was also reminded of the Cardiff test at the last ashes opener.  Couldn’t finish the game.  http://www.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/current/match/345970.html
      And who were the culprits there?  Look it up.  Whoever finds the parallels gets a cookie!

    • Dan says:

      08:51am | 04/11/10

      It’s the selectors fault for not picking youth, look at the age of Matthews-23, where are our young guns, still toiling away in Sheffield Shield Cricket, shjort-sightedness has nearly lost us the Ashes, let’s hope Greg Chappell can change it, we’re called a “team in transition” but we’re still the same age, still OLD.  It’s just as much the senior players fault for night retiring gracefully and instead holding on selfishly, a la Hayden, a la Hussey & North in the test teanm.  If we want to really rebuild we gotta get some short-term pain for long-term gain instead of this whole p[rotect our selecting and playing careers selfish attitude that is part of the team

      Reply

    • DougB says:

      09:47am | 04/11/10

      Got it in one Dan, the biggest problem here is that it is not so much the cricketers who need changing as the selectors.
      They play the “mates” game and fail to look at all that the states have to offer.
      We will see a serious decline until the selection board is overhauled.

    • Matthew says:

      02:21pm | 04/11/10

      Maybe it’s just me but I hadn’t heard of North pre-2009 (I don’t follow state cricket much).  How can he be considered “holding on selfishly” after a mere 1.5 seasons of cricket?  Sounds like he should never have been picked in the first place.  I’d look to Ponting holding on selfishly for the last 3 seasons.

    • Brad says:

      02:22pm | 04/11/10

      Well said Dan,

      Completely agree - we need to stop give 30 years old their first cap. We need to throw a few 20 years old into the fray. Remember when Ponting was first picked - he hardly needed to shave!

      Lets bring on some real youth with fire in the belly and not a bunch of ageing hacks with no improvement left in them trying to wring a few years out on a comfy ACB contract.

    • Matt Dee says:

      08:55am | 04/11/10

      I say don’t let Clarke or Ponting anywhere near the captaincy, these two guys haven’t a clue.

      Reply

    • salo says:

      09:24am | 04/11/10

      Who, then, genius?

    • Lee says:

      03:59pm | 04/11/10

      Katich, captained NSW to a sheild, then maybe later Ferguson.

    • Alex says:

      10:50am | 05/11/10

      I love reading comments like this. Ricky Ponting has a winning percentage as captain of 65% (Better than Mark Taylor who was arguably a much better ‘pure’ captain).

      Australia have played only 14 tests at home since Jan 2008 compared to 21 tests away. Compare this to India who are the current number 1 test side who have played 17 games at home and 14 games away.

      Thats a massive disadvantage for Australia. It’s surprising that they haven’t done worse.

    • Matt says:

      08:58am | 04/11/10

      The amount of advertising in cricket is ridiculous. I was sad for the Australian team - they were playing in Sri Lanka. Talk about not being able to finish the enemy off. Is it bad captiancy? It is rather inconcievable that Australia would take it’s foot off the Sri Lankan team’s throat, especially when they were 8 down for little more than 100.

      Reply

    • Wendy Miller says:

      09:01am | 04/11/10

      Australian Cricket has kind of become a parody of itself. It has lost it’s heart somehow with the big push for the Indian dollar.  It all traces back to the day the ACB wouldn’t support Andrew Symonds against Harbhajan Singh..
      From then on, Australian Cricket just became a glorified “shop front” for the Indian powerbrokers and it will be more so next year.
      now it is imploding from inside..

      Reply

    • Nihal says:

      10:51am | 04/11/10

      The bottom line is that the Aussies are trying to be all submissive and not sledge. Mental disintegration is part of the game and if your too soft not to take it, then you should not be playing. The Aussies ruled when they chattered a lot. Now it seems other teams are doing it and these guys just sit and take it. If only Steve Waugh was there or the younger Ponting, they would have got into the ear of Malinga and presto, he would have had a rush of blood like all fast bowlers and lost his wicket. Aussies need to lose the good boy tag and put on the mantle of being the toughest bloke in the yard and then see the results flow in

    • Larry de Silva says:

      11:29am | 04/11/10

      Nihal, sledging is for players without the necessary talent to let their cricket do the talking. Verbal abuse is contrary to the spirit of cricket and as a fellow expat Sri Lankan, I find it surprising that you advocate this. You do NOT need to be a sledger to be all tough, you need to focus and try harder with your skills. Only idiots sledge these days. Could you imagine sledging Tendulkar? He will murder you!!

    • Geoff says:

      10:49am | 05/11/10

      Larry, couldn’t agree more with you!! Sledging is definitely for the uneducated with limited ability. I don’t recall who it was but I remember reading about an Ozzie sledging Sachin when he was 18/19….outcome…Sachin hit a ton!!!

      COME ON ENGLAND!!! Best chance of an Ashes win here in decades!!

    • YikYak says:

      09:04am | 04/11/10

      As always, a sensationally written article!

      Look forward to the next.

      Reply

    • Somebody says:

      09:04am | 04/11/10

      I understand Australia has lost a lot of top players but in the past we have lost good players too, but still managed to dominate. The reason was we brought in young players with potential to play with the experienced ones.
      How many young players have we brought in after Glen and Shane retired .
      Yes we brought in players but players in their 30’s.

      Also our choice of captains has been off the mark . Ricky pointing though a great player is not a good captain . He should have never been made captain . Shane Warne would have been a much better captain. Michael Clarke should not even be in the team let alon be a captain and there in lies our problem. Michale clarke has been given more than enough chances to prove himself and inspite of failing he still seems to be in the team?

      Reply

    • Rod says:

      09:06am | 04/11/10

      I think Dennis Lillie might still bowl better than those pathetic idiots. Ever since Glen McGrath retired no-one has bowled at the stumps…....

      Reply

    • Budz says:

      09:25am | 04/11/10

      @Rod: I’ll decipher your above comment as ” Ever since Glen McGrath who happened to be one of the best fast bowlers ever, the bowlers since then have been no where near his calibre.”

      Really surprising that you can’t replace one of the best ever with another of the same quality.

      I think Aussie cricketing fans need to get used to life post the greatest period of cricketing dominance ever. And next time the Aussies dominate like that (if you are alive to see it), really appreciate it, and don’t treat it as ‘normal’.  All I know is that cricketing fans of other nations are loving seeing the infighting that has begun as an era ends!

    • mw says:

      09:55am | 04/11/10

      Thats not entirely true. Stuart Clark put in well for a while there, and Brett Lee did actually manage to tidy up his form after he lost his pace…

    • Matthew says:

      02:43pm | 04/11/10

      mw is right, Stuart Clark bowled almost as tidy as McGrath and kept them hobbling along a bit longer than they should have.  There’s no one in the team to stem the flow of runs now so they rely on taking lots of wickets but unfortunately it only takes 1 batter (and there’s always 1 in a team) to stay in long enough to learn the bowler and start smacking it around.  At least with McGrath he kept that batter from making runs.

      McGrath didn’t get as much credit as he deserves.  He was always second fiddle to Warne and even Brett Lee got the limelight.  He always kept the batters run rate in check while warney and lee would get hit around and even take a fair few wickets himself.  Not to forget his batting prowess!  Easily Australia’s best All-Rounder ever. wink

    • JP says:

      09:15am | 04/11/10

      I am an Australian who has gone for any other team but Australia for last 8 years, why you might ask? Because for the last 7-8 years cricket has become so boring and one-sided. Its only good when, like last night, there is an amazing competition, and Australia must fight for their win, which they were unable to do. The reason these teams have come good recently i.e. Sri Lanka, India, South Africa and maybe England, is because they did what Australia did in the mid-late 90’s. Put all their effort into developing their young players. In the golden era of Warne and McGrath etc, this was lost, and now these other teams have caught on. Australia have to go back to the rebuilding stage, they must start again and did what they were doing 15 years ago, it will take time, and they can’t expect to win world cups and ashes series alike, but this is the only way they will restore the glory days. Oh, and I will have no sympathy for any Australian cricket fan, not until you go through what I went through, watching the team your going for get FLOGGED, every single time, right now I am living it up, and only hope that these other teams continue to win for the years to come.

      Reply

    • chelle says:

      01:14pm | 04/11/10

      so im not the only one that has gone for eveyone else. all those times being called a traitor and everyone always laughing at you because your teams kept losing. well now the shoes on the other foot and its going to stay there for a long long time. its so fun to watch those once smug faces now crying into their VBs after each match.

    • Mark says:

      01:52pm | 04/11/10

      JP and chelle, are you really Australian? Sounds more like you are Kiwi’s to me. If you are so messed up that you cannot support our national cricket team you need follow another sport or emigrate!

    • chelle says:

      06:01pm | 04/11/10

      no mark im an aussie born and bred. messed up no more like i just quickly got sick of watching the arrogance the sore winners of the australian cricket team displayed. oh its good to watch them wither back into the world of reality and experience losing on a more regular basis. its now someone elses turn to stand up and dominate and when they do i bet they win gracefully and sportsman like unlike what the aussies have shown.

      it would be good to see the kiwis become the next team to dominate but india will do just fine

    • Fabs says:

      12:43pm | 08/11/10

      Definitely a kiwi with that grammar….

    • Graham Mcphail says:

      09:17am | 04/11/10

      Gambling and cheating is so endemic these days, you could simply ring someone in England or India, perhaps a bookie named “John” and get them to do it for you. The game is stuffed and the people in charge wont admit there is corruption and keep sweeping it under the carpet..
      How many times in Australian history have they lost a game with two wickets to go and the other team needing more than a hundred..?
      Yet they have done it twice out of the last 4 matches.

      Coincidence? Unlikely.

      Reply

    • Mike says:

      11:42am | 04/11/10

      C’mon Graham, that is ridiculous. We lost because we weren’t good enough. Not because we were being paid

    • Hermano says:

      01:13pm | 04/11/10

      C’mon Mike, Graham has a point.

    • Xavier says:

      02:05pm | 04/11/10

      Graham, I agree. You really don’t know any more which games are real or not real. over $20 million wagered on the game last night. if it was Pakistan, everyone would be raising huge questions.

    • Tim Scott Young says:

      03:26pm | 04/11/10

      Todd, love it. Come On England. It is our time. It would be great to beat the convicts in their own island jail.

    • CRICWatcher says:

      03:26pm | 04/11/10

      I don’t believe any sum of money is worthy of endearing last nights embarrassment.

    • Jim says:

      09:24am | 04/11/10

      A few years ago, when Australia was virually unbeatable, headlines bleated that our success made for boring and predictable cricket, and was no good for the game. Now we’ve come back to the field and the headlines are now screaming for heads. Make up your minds!

      It’s obvious to anyone that the decline in Australian cricket is directly proportional to the decline in mullets, moustaches and the amount of beer one drinks. Now we have tea-totalling pretty boy athletes with manicured bits and wax jobs, ‘body art’ and photograph portfolios…you’d never see Boonie posing for a calendar!

      Dougie Bollinger and Siddle have the mongrel, but lack the mo…grow one fellas, sink a slab of VB and get out there and tear the Poms apart….Johnstone can serve drink in the Ladies Lounge.

      Reply

    • Gary Maher says:

      09:26am | 04/11/10

      I think the responsibility of this solely lies with the selectors over the last two years. There mismanagement of players is farcical. We will loose David Warner to another country if we are not careful. There is a talent going to waste. I dont think age or previous records should have anything to do with who to cloose in the side. It is how they are playing at present that matters. We have a wealth of talent both young and older in our state sides. Pick the best of them. I cant see why both Brett Lee and Stuart Clark should not be chosen. They cant be worse than what we saw last night. Clark can at least slow the scoring rate and tie up one end while lee can bowl yorkers as again no one did last night. Johnson and Siddle should be dropped Phil Hughes and Warner to open, Michael Clarke and Ricky pointing dropped, Callum Ferguson and Brad Hodge in . Cameron White captain. Selectors Jamie Cox , Andrew Hilditch, and David Boon dropped. Steve Waugh, Shane Warne and Glen McGrath in.

      Reply

    • salo says:

      10:20am | 04/11/10

      So who are these brilliant young players? Surely bringing back old fogeys like B Lee, S Clark and B Hodge is not the answer. It only shows that you’ve got less idea than the current selectors who at least have been trying some new faces with a possible future.

    • Todd Shand says:

      09:26am | 04/11/10

      I agree with Graham. Who knows which game is rigged and which isn’t? Cricket has failed to address it’s biggest problem. The lack of Australians in the crowd last night was a vote of no confidence in Cricket Australia’s handling of our once proud game.

      Reply

    • Matthew says:

      09:28am | 04/11/10

      Someone check with the corporate bookmakers to see if there were any plunges on Sri Lanka to win from 8 wickets down.  If it were Pakistan or India vs Sri Lanka there would be a big chance of a match fix but for us, it just means we’re rubbish at cricket or Clarke needed to get back the cost of Lara’s $250,000 Aston Martin and the $200,000 ring.  Seriously, we’re just rubbish.

      Reply

    • dancan says:

      09:30am | 04/11/10

      Maybe the Australian teams are just on the take

      Reply

    • Davo says:

      09:31am | 04/11/10

      Memo: Australian selectors
      Where’s Brett Lee? He’s better than most of our ‘powder puff’ medium pacers in the 50 over game!

      Reply

    • salo says:

      12:48pm | 04/11/10

      Where’s Lee? I have the numbers of a couple of aged care establishments, you might want to check with them.

    • JIm Hacker says:

      12:53pm | 04/11/10

      You have got to be joking mate! That bloke has been bowling 130 kph fodder for the past few years. Do you actually watch the game? Amazing comment.

    • Chris Williams says:

      09:34am | 04/11/10

      I’m a kiwi and cricket in New Zealand is going the same way. Lost it’s soul and sold it to the Indians. Too much meaningless cricket played. No one get excited any more.

      Cricket Australia = Head in the Sand!

      James Sutherland is a very ordinary administrator.

      Reply

    • Darren Buck says:

      02:12pm | 04/11/10

      James Sutherland!

      Don’t get me started. Next year he is going to kill interstate cricket and have some Indian funded super league. I want to keep my Bushrangers the way they are.

    • Davo says:

      09:35am | 04/11/10

      Could someone check Pup’s bank account for any wire transfer’s from Pakistan?

      Reply

    • Scott says:

      09:37am | 04/11/10

      Credit to Sri Lanka, they have always been one of the most exciting teams to watch. Last night they proved they also have that never say die attitude that our boys seem to lack at the moment. The golden era of australian cricket was dead long before last night. The final nails in the coffin was when we lost a home series to Sth Africa a couple of years ago and the ashes last year. Problem is no one seems to know how to rebuild the team and i fear we will be punished accordingly by the poms this summer? message to the selectors.. time to punish those who dont perform, do not give them 4-5 tests to find form again, we dont have the bowlers like warne, lee and mcgrath to dig us out of trouble anymore.

      Reply

    • Ron Airey says:

      09:39am | 04/11/10

      Fancy two tail enders scoring over 130 runs, just goes to show how lax our bowlers of today are, “Pathetic”, no line and length,wides and obviously no thought into tactics of dismissing the batsmen , under 16’s bowlers would have performed better,  i think it is about time the selectors had a good hard look at their selection criteria, as last nights game would have go down as the worse result of all time at group 1 level.and to think that these players will at some time be coaches, what example have they set for our juniors of the future who idolize these so called professionals.

      Reply

    • Tom says:

      11:26am | 04/11/10

      Mate - Angelo Matthews is far from a tail ender…

    • Todd Shand says:

      09:42am | 04/11/10

      I’m English and loving it.

      Not only are we going to come out there and make love to all your women. Aussies are hopeless in bed….drink all your beer…Aussies can’t hold their beer…we are also going to belt you at the game we invented. Happy Days.

      Reply

    • Matthew says:

      10:05am | 04/11/10

      Todd Shand’s comment is Champagne comedy at its best.  I love to hate the Poms but take my hat off to you old mate.  Great comment.  Maybe it’s an English bookmaker that’s paying Clarke and Ponting.

    • Dale Richards says:

      02:04pm | 04/11/10

      Todd, your work is fantastic. You are very funny and made my day with your humour. Keep it up. I am an Aussie but I love your banter. Can’t wait for the Ashes. I reckon all of this will be forgotten if it is 2-2 coming into Sydney with all to play for. All of a sudden cricket will be bigger than Texas again.

    • Harry says:

      02:16pm | 04/11/10

      Todd, LOL. love it. I wish you were one of the commentators on Channel 9. You would liven it all up a bit. Very good work mate. The Channel 9 team are all old and bland. Could be a boring summer of cricket, I’m afraid.

    • Edward says:

      03:38pm | 04/11/10

      Hi Todd. When you are in Melbourne, look me up. I am scottish and we are almost english. Infact, scotish and english are the same over here.

    • Damo says:

      09:49am | 04/11/10

      We should be questioning why Tim Neilson is still the coach. His record since he took over is crap.

      Reply

    • Hendo says:

      09:52am | 04/11/10

      I’m extremely pleased to see Australia losing consistently again. Remember what your grandpa used to say? “It isn’t whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game.” For the past 15-odd years, Australia has played the game like a pack of spolit, arrogant, smug, bully-boy brats. Perhaps now we’ll see some all-important humility creep back into the Australian sporting psyche.

      Reply

    • scott says:

      10:45am | 04/11/10

      Hendo, couldnt agree more with what our grandpa’s used to say and your comments in general.  Unfortunately “its how you play the game” seems to have been lost on todays modern sport environment, not just with cricket or australia, but the world over. However i havent lost all faith and i’m hoping that a bit of humble pie will help the australian sporting psyche which has been a disgrace at its worst turn around for the better. Im also hoping a new generation of crickets will come through that will appreciate what it means to wear the baggy green and the responsibilities on and off the field it carries. Perhaps being underdogs again will bring in the aussie battler psyche that plays hard but fair while upholding the traditions of the game?

    • JP says:

      11:07am | 04/11/10

      Agree with you both! The Australian players have became spoilt from all their success. There needs to be major changes.

    • Mark says:

      10:06am | 04/11/10

      Clarke is incompetent as a captain and a cancer as a player within the side. We may lose a few more matches but Australian Cricket would be better off without the likes of Michael Clarke in the picture. I can deal with losing when you like the team and think they are doing their best. This lot appear to be overpaid and only interested in what is in the game for them. Clarke claims to be out there for his country but his actions don’t show it. With the stench of corruption in the air around cricket there should be an investigation into yesterdays match. At 8/107 and needing 133 to win, no side should have lost that. I think I will pass on cricket until it appears clean and the Australian team are passionate and eager to win matches.

      Reply

    • zangers says:

      10:12am | 04/11/10

      quite like the ending of your article - but dont blame the aussie cricketers, blame the burden the CBA has placed on them in the last 48 hours. I fear the team will be as despised and chastised by the aussie public while ever wearing the black and gold logo of that bank. The golden era is definately gone, at least with VB logo on their shirts they didnt look to out of place with their fans.
      ps, an extra .45 per cent on that large cheque would have made it $1004.50c not $1045!!

      Reply

    • raj says:

      10:18am | 04/11/10

      Unless Lee and Tait come back, Australia have no hope in the worlc cup. The current squad are a bunch of no hopers, they are veteranbs but still losing, i’d rather see the likes of hughes, warner, khawaja and ferguson play across all the formats, they will lose some but will atleast build up to be a good future team.

      Reply

    • Lee says:

      04:14pm | 04/11/10

      Warner fires once every ten digs, not good enough.

    • boothy says:

      10:24am | 04/11/10

      besides from smith being injured, there are other spinners capable with part timers hussey and clark. mr cricket didnt get a look in. clark put himself on when it was too late.
      it takes innovation to be a good captain, clark showed none. there is no point persisting with field placings and bowlers when it isnt working, its not magically just going to get wickets. changes need to be made, even for short periods to keep the batsmen unsure, expecially tail enders!!

      now im normally a clark fan, and thought he had the potential to be a good captain, i now have my doubts. he needs to prove himself and put on some excellent performances. and im not talking about big winning margins, im talking about starting to win the close games, the ones we seems to throw away at the moment, as soon as there is a little pressure.

      oh and cricket australia needs to sack anyone over about 27 or 28 years old and concentrate on the young players. lets try and get some dominance back, even if it takes a couple of years.

      Reply

    • Somebody says:

      10:52am | 04/11/10

      I agree this is a rebuilding stage so let us rebuild with young players not old ones. Yes we will loose matches for a few years which we are now any way, so let us look at the future.

    • Liam says:

      10:25am | 04/11/10

      Haha Todd Shand - Aussies are hopeless in bed? Ok Guru Krishna. And we can’t hold our beer? hahahahahaha. As for the Australian cricket team, what is going on with the selectors? Why is the ultra-feminine Michael Clarke captaining the Aussie cricket side? No Australians like him and we certainly don’t like him being in our cricket side, let alone the skipper. Let Ponting bat no.3 and give someone like Katich the captaincy (for now). We need to get a bit of mongrel back in the side - and you know what else we need - some disciplined line and lengths. If some of the blokes over here (WA) in first grade cricket can bowl in a shoebox, how is it ok for our Australian fast bowlers to be spraying it all over the pitch? Get some bowling coaching/training happening and get these guys bowling good areas or send them back to domestic cricket. Lift your game and get tough, coaches and selectors.

      Reply

    • Nate says:

      10:25am | 04/11/10

      Seriously, the whole of Australian Cricket needs to take a long look at itself. We have a history of only playing older “experienced” players. The young obviously talented guys only get 2 or 3 games and if they don’t play best on ground they don’t get played again.
      Other nations play younger guys and will back them for a summer. You can’t expect someone to perform after one game and stay at a perfect level. Obviously once you’ve “earnt” your spot you never lose it though. We have a team of players who aren’t performing but can’t lose their spot.
      Australian Cricket is a joke. Does anyone want my ticket to the first Ashes test?

      Reply

    • james says:

      10:29am | 04/11/10

      The key problem is our selectors on one hand they replace Merv Hughes yet make shocking selections like the last Ashes decider not using a true spinner on a spinning wicket a decision the chairman of selectors can’t make walking his dog on Beaches in South Australia by avoiding to watch the match, the Pakistan test loss should have rang the alarm bells we need to upgrade a old team team with fresh new faces, new era new talent, we need a proper opening batsman we have many promising opening shield players that need to be given a chance & Watson should bat at 6 to tighten the middle order with Hussey & North failing too often, Ferguson & Watson need to be 5 & 6 we need to get rid of Haurtiz & play Smith or any other promising spinner & employ Warnie as coach so to teach our captains how set fields to spin bowlers & when to use them, we now lose tests we should draw or win like the two in India one from bad luck we have a Captain who makes stupid prediction like we would beat England 5-0 in this upcoming Ashes series, we have an ex- coach giving Peterson heaps & if he clicks god helps us trying to get out their top order, Strass & Trott are hard enough to dismiss & if Cook plays with a straight bat rather then the angle shots he gets away with in England they will be dangerous & the fact England have Swann who is by far the best spin bowler in the upcoming battle for the Ashes, our bowlers toil hard & long for little reward no disputing that Dougie & Siddle at least have a dip no matter the state of the game, they huff & puff like Caddick use to when he bowled to our top order without really sustaining consistent threats to batsmen, we have no plan when the opposition get on top & hope for the best rather then making things happen we go through the motions & we get outplayed & out thought most times because our Captain & selectors seem to think we still have the same side that beat England 5-0 we don’t.  We also need to stop protecting the side we sit at 5 in world ranking all this spin doctoring that it’s not as bad as it seems is wrong our spinner couldn’t bowl my mum out on a spinning wicket, we only sit above a West Indies side not caring about test cricket any more & New Zealand struggling with fielding 11 decent players, & Pakistan too corrupt to know which team will turn up & a nightmare booking for honest nations we need to turn the team over now to find new talent & see whether they can cut it & debut players before they apply for the pension when is the last time a test player debuted for Australia under 28.

      Reply

    • Todd Shand says:

      10:30am | 04/11/10

      Do they only pick Metrosexuals to play for Australia? where are the hard men? are there any left in Australia? or are they all off sipping cafe lattes and having manicures?

      Reply

    • Ant Sharwood says:

      11:03am | 04/11/10

      Well, there’s a media event involving Mitchell Johnson at Sydney’s super trendy Otto restaurant next week. Pretty sure it’s being put on by some fancy shoe sponsors. Does that answer your quessie?

    • James says:

      01:48pm | 04/11/10

      You are a genius Todd. One of the funniest guys I have read and I’m an Aussie. I agree we, The Aussies, are going to struggle for awhile. Time for you english to get some of your own back in the stirring stakes .After all we owned you for 25 years.

    • G says:

      02:04pm | 04/11/10

      All the hard men are playing Rugby

      You’re welcome.

      G.

    • Matt says:

      10:41am | 04/11/10

      Clarke is the problem.  Brain dead with no leadership potential at all.  Any potential he did have floated away with his ego when he was running around with that other brain dead blonde…..

      Reply

    • C1 says:

      01:14pm | 04/11/10

      I think it was when he was annoited at such an early stage in his career. Why work when you know you have the prize. Where is the hunger, the drive to achieve your best and perfect the art of captaining your side. It does not come naturally - you have to work at it for years.
      I would have thought that there could have been several contenders (identified early like Clarke) who would be told you have the potential to be Captain and we are watching. Then there is some competition for the position and each can be blooded over a period of time.

    • mike j says:

      10:55am | 04/11/10

      I was going to read this article until I saw you were “pondering the inevitable demise of 50 over cricket”. WTF? What’s it going to be replaced with? Twenty20? French cricket? Tiddlywinks? You’ve really got your finger on the pulse, don’t you, moron.

      Reply

    • Ant Sharwood says:

      11:01am | 04/11/10

      The only thing I’d say, Mike J, is that both Shane Warne and Matt Hayden, whom I’ve interviewed one-on-one recently, both say the 50 over format is on its way out and may soon be extinct. Get an RSS feed of my stories because I promise I’ll be writing an extended piece on the death of the 50 over game - and quite possibly the official plans to phase it out - before the end of summer.

    • Bombo B says:

      11:00am | 04/11/10

      Why didn’t Clarke bowl himself when the others were getting smashed?  He can bowl a bit.

      Reply

    • Jotun says:

      11:00am | 04/11/10

      I do have to laugh when fans are calling for the heads of the two most consistent batsmen since McGrath, Warne, Gilchrist and Langer retired. Ponting and Clarke have still averaged over 40 in Test cricket since 2007 and Clarke’s recent test form sans India is fantastic. Don’t forget he scored a fantastic century over there less than a month ago.
      What is concerning is the depth of fast bowling in Australia, and the high injury rates. A lot of front-on bowlers are getting injuries, which beggars belief.
      The bowling attack will look a lot different at the World Cup, which will probably be Bollinger, Ryan Harris, Johnson and Hauritz, depending on how Peter Siddle, Shaun Tait and Xavier Doherty go for the rest of this series and/or against England.
      The Ashes bowling attack will be better as well with the addition of Bollinger and Ben Hilfenhaus.

      Hussey should remain in the World Cup squad, and North should hold his Test spot for the whole Ashes. Usman Khawaja should replace Hussey in the Test side, and Phil Hughes should be ready to take Katich’s spot after this series. I don’t think the selectors have ignored youth at all, they just can’t justify chucking in youngsters whose development will be stunted in fashions made famous by Pakistani selection decisions.

      Reply

    • Somebody says:

      11:47am | 04/11/10

      Jotun unfortunately the selectors have the same old thinking as yours. Bringing in young players to play with experienced players gives them the experience. By not getting them early you stun their developement and exposure to international cricket.

    • Lee says:

      04:26pm | 04/11/10

      Why the sudden love affair with Doherty, yes he performed well. However, Aaron Heal must consider himself one of the unluckiest players in Australia. He has been the best spinner in 20/20 and ODD cricket for the past 3 years. Yet, they give guys like O’keefe a look in, who is he?

    • Jotun says:

      05:00pm | 04/11/10

      Somebody, they’ve brought in younger players already, it’s not the time yet to bring in more! Think Tim Paine, Ben Hilfenhaus, Peter Siddle, Peter George, Josh Hazlewood, Shaun Marsh, Callum Ferguson. These guys have all played international cricket in the last few years. When it is time to bring young batsmen in, they will do so. Wait until the Ashes mate, Khawaja and possibly Ferguson will have debuted, England will win the Ashes, and everyone will still be bleating about youth.

    • Barry says:

      11:04am | 04/11/10

      Hats off to the Sri Lankans - they played with passion and flair which Australia use to be renowned for.
      The only Australian that really stood out was Xavier - the little Tasmanian finally got his chance (at the age of 27) and did brilliantly well. Whats the bet the selectors drop him in favour of a NSW squad member.?
      My issue with Australian cricket is it is not raw enough. We need new talent given a chance - not holding onto senior players underperforming is a start. That includes clarke.
      The victorian smashing runs is Hodge but will he get a run in a side desperate for runs.? The selectors need to mix it up and give some young guns a real run.

      Reply

    • Leisure Suit Larry says:

      12:14pm | 04/11/10

      Yes Barry I agree. A left arm finger spiiner is like pure gold and XD should be given every opportunity to play Ashes contest this summer as he actually spins it unlike the current test spinner. Steve Smith needs a little more time and Warney in his ear but I think he will go on and take 200+ test wkts. As Kerry O’Keefe said a few seasons ago, Hauritz couldn’t turn it in a tumble dryer. In fact Hauritz best bowling figures in the test side is the ‘tainted’ SCG test last year when the Paki’s made Millions !!!
      North, Hussey, Hauritz OUT,
      Ferg, Khawaja, Doherty IN

    • Zopo says:

      11:10am | 04/11/10

      I remember a few years back, the Cricket Administrators were looking to alter the games rules, and crowds were getting bored such was the dominance of the Aussie team.

      How times change.

      Reply

    • they're dead tro me says:

      11:12am | 04/11/10

      if they’re older than 33 it’s time to step aside

      Reply

    • redneck says:

      11:25am | 04/11/10

      we need dougie bollinger playing, maybe even give hilfy another go in the 50 over format. also tait to come back in. and for the batting ponting should make a difference and furgesons worth his weight in gold in the 50 over format. not the end of the world! selectors should be the ones getting dropped though!

      Reply

    • ABR says:

      11:27am | 04/11/10

      I was at yesterdays game & as a Sri Lankan supporter i was ecstatic but as cricket lover & one whom has had great respect for Australian cricket, where was YOUR support. 19,000 odd people of which 90% were Sri Lankan supporters. Its indicative of Australian cricket & its administration imo. For far too long they cruised with the poster boys of Mc Grath, Warne & the golden generation, now you have a personality less squad of x-box cricketers (ordinary cricketers at that) whom the Australian public have no connection with.  I must say though it is nice to see Australia lose & now being dominated by the very ones they once bullied arrogantly & laughed at, these cricketers are not only better than you but also wealthier.
      If Australia does lose the Ashes, cricket in this country will lose its place in Australian culture its scraps will be picked up by Indian administrators & you can then officially say RIP AUSTRALIAN CRICKET!

      Reply

    • Ciaran says:

      12:50pm | 04/11/10

      Ryan Harris and Doug Bollinger are set to earn 1.5 million from CA this season. Pretty sure they are not wealthier.

    • Richard M says:

      02:21pm | 04/11/10

      Where do you live ABR?  If you are an Australian permanent resident, even perhaps an Australian citizen, why are you supporting the opposition? What an insult to your adopted country.  Watching last night’s game and the performance of all those Australian citizens and residents cheering wildly for an Aussie defeat, I thought the handing out of some one-way tickets to Sri Lanka would have been in order.  Multibloodyculturalism strikes again.

    • Cham says:

      06:16pm | 04/11/10

      @Richard M, how is that even relevant? I’m a Sri Lankan born New Zealand Citizen living in Australia, who do YOU think I should be supporting? The team I enjoy watching and have supported all my life, or Australia/New Zealand just because Ive resided in these countries? Your comment is idiotic and has a hint of bigotry. Multibloodyculturalism (as you put it) has nothing to do with the fact that the Sri Lankan fans outnumbered the Aussies on the day, it just shows that the average Australian would rather get drunk and pass out at the Melbourne Cup than come support their team in the cricket. Cricket in Australia is dying, its alive and kicking in the rest of the world.

    • Richard M says:

      11:54am | 05/11/10

      Cham, your silly and disgraceful rant speaks for itself.  Just one question: why, if you dislike us so much, do you continue to live here?  There are flights leaving for NZ or Sri Lanka daily.

    • Geo says:

      11:32am | 04/11/10

      Katich would be a great Captain, Clark is a batsman and thats it, and even then its hit and miss ,thats all he is, should never be given the top job, you need a bloke with guts and grit and Clarke is not the bloke for the job, metrosexuals do not make good captains for Australia. The selctors need to give it away as well, and if Hauritz ever plays one more game I will be shocked and amazed, my grandmother can bowl better than him. North and Hussey have had their day and have done well at times in the past ,they are just lucky that CA and the selectors do not look to blood any batsmen younger than 30 other wise they would have been given the boot long ago. I am afraid that the Poms may have the ashes sown up, its going to be a long summer, lets hope for rain and lots of it.

      Reply

    • Peter says:

      11:43am | 04/11/10

      Having witnessed both West Indian and Australian dominance, i have come to the conclusion that it’s all about the bowlers…

      Reply

    • Justin says:

      11:58am | 04/11/10

      Where’s Mick Lewis when you need him? Sri Lanka would have wrapped up the match much earlier with him in the “attack” & we all would have had an extra hour to recover from sticking pins in our eyes.

      There is a serious side to bringing up Lewis’ name - if you had chosen to ignore the signs in 2004 & 2005 regarding the lack of onfield nous & leadership of the team, Mick Lewis being allowed to go for 113 off 10 overs at The Wanderers in 2006 should have had the alarm bells ringing. The plan was for him to bowl 10 overs & not even the worst one day bowling performance of all time could change the plan. Go back & analyse every failure since 2003 & you’ll find the same thing. You can’t captain by the numbers, especially if you don’t have the cattle.

      What we are seeing now has seeds going back 7-8 years & I think they need to hit rock bottom before those in charge come out of denial. You can’t afford not to pick state players who are in form these days because they can, & will go elsewhere & they won’t be there when you really need them.

      Reply

    • Fab says:

      12:01pm | 04/11/10

      No-one told me one day cricket is dying, if that’s the case then Test cricket must have at least one foot in the grave. From what I see most cricket fans seem to be getting excited over the coming Ashes series, except maybe the Aussies after last nights effort . But please don’t tell me that this carnival, fast food version of the game called 20/20 cricket is responsible for holding the smoking gun? Anyway, I’d like to correct Anthony Sharwood on his description of how the Sri Lankans ‘Bradbury’d’ the Aussies. Please, how can you cheapen that miraculous victory by comparing it to probably the best stroke of luck bestowed on a sportsman. Not to take anything away from Steven Bradbury but he sailed past on his skates after every other guy crashed out on the ice, the Sri Lankans stole that victory from Australia by playing great cricket & producing the highest 9th wicket partnership in ODI history. The two victories couldn’t be far enough apart. Thank-you for at least acknowledging that they gained victory by ‘some incredibly clean, mostly orthodox hitting’. And lastly, since I’m being so critical, ha ha ha, I doubt very much that Micheal Clarke was serious when asking Mark Nicholas for advice. The Aussies aren’t in that much trouble so please Australian media, don’t come down on them like a tonne of bricks just because they’ve lost a handful of matches to some good competition. Part of supporting your team is taking the good with the bad, and I’m talking from experience having supported the Sri Lankan cricket team ever since they came onto the world stage & who hasn’t been the most consistent team in history.

      Reply

    • Days says:

      12:03pm | 04/11/10

      It’s going to be a long summer.  Thank god we have the great outdoors to amuse ourselves.  Staying in and watching the cricket may not be the best way to spend this summer.

      Reply

    • Spaceman says:

      12:03pm | 04/11/10

      Brind back Andy Bichel & Andrew Symonds!

      Reply

    • ibast says:

      12:08pm | 04/11/10

      At the time they first did it, I was very much in favor of having a different test and one-day side.  In retrospect Australian cricket has very much been in decline since then.  Perhaps now that 20:20 is entrenched (unfortunately IMO) the time had come to have a 20:20 side and a single Test/one-day side again.

      Reply

    • Ciaran says:

      12:10pm | 04/11/10

      I am not sure who your editor is but I hope you get the tap on the shoulder this afternoon telling you that you are a talentless hack and that you are now out of a job. “RIP Australian Cricket”. This is the type of dribble the tabloids write in England. Ponting is the best Australian Captain we have right now and he is one of the greatest batsmen Australia has ever seen so give him the respect he deserves. After Ponting Clarke still requires some maturing but will also be an excellent captain. After those two are gone you will see Australia’s next golden generation coming through with Hughes, Paine, Ferguson, Wade and Steve Smith among others. Stop being so dramatic

      Reply

    • Ant Sharwood says:

      12:45pm | 04/11/10

      A mock RIP announcement was in fact the very thing that started the tradition of The Ashes. Yeah, guess there’s not much call for this kinda thing…

    • Somebody says:

      01:03pm | 04/11/10

      Pointing as a captain has broken a lot of records and not the kind he will be proud of. No one denies he is an excellent batsman. Clarke needs more maturing ?? he has been in the team for ages now how much more time does he need ? when he is 40 ?

    • Aaron says:

      12:32pm | 04/11/10

      What will it take for the selectors to be held accountable?

      Reply

    • MarK says:

      01:00pm | 04/11/10

      NZ beating us

    • Lasith Matthews says:

      12:48pm | 04/11/10

      Guys, give some credit where credit is due… Perera, Malinga and Randiv bowled well to limit the Aussies to 239… And Sanga started the lankans off in fine fashion, and Matthews and Malinga batted brilliantly to fight back and win the unwinable game! What a game and what a come-back! So glad this happened in Australia because i got to watch history being made!

      Reply

    • Somebody says:

      01:08pm | 04/11/10

      Yes Sri Lanka deserved to win . But even the Sri Lankan players themselves will admit that more than them winning this game Australia lost this.
      Good game though being an Australian supporter it was unbearable to watch

    • Lankan says:

      12:50pm | 04/11/10

      What a match! One of the best I’ve ever had the privilege of watching! I guess the Aussie team is now at the stage the West Indies were in the early 90’s after all their greats retired.

      Reply

    • Jim Hacker says:

      12:56pm | 04/11/10

      Rick Charlesworth, please make yourself available to take over from our current coach, who I am sure still found some positives out of last night’s debacle.

      Reply

    • SG says:

      01:00pm | 04/11/10

      It’s all “Karma”!!!! Remember the down slide started from the infamous Sydney test of 2008 vs India.

      Reply

    • Pom says:

      01:10pm | 04/11/10

      It’s a natural cycle. Anyone who thought Australia would be able to maintain the standards set by Warne, McGrath, Gilchrist et al, is a dreamer. That was a freak side brought together by fortuitous timing.

      Now that you guys suck (and also because the Aussie cricketers have typically been arrogant twats), the rest of the cricketing world is loving every minute of it.
      Bring on the Ashes.

      Reply

    • Richard M says:

      02:29pm | 04/11/10

      Arrogant twats, eh?  I don’t recall our players getting OBE’s or some such because they won one series.  I think you really mean that they were good, and constantly beat you.  Now, if there was an Olympic event for arrogance, Poms might actually win a clean sweep of the medals.  Just one little warning, Poms - remember what happened last time you started crowing BEFORE the series in Australia started?

    • True Brit says:

      04:09pm | 04/11/10

      Much has been made of the 5-0 defeat of England in 2006/7. It should be remembered though that the England side of that series was without the likes of Michael Vaughan & Simon Jones and there was a question mark over the fitness of Freddie Flintoff. You may recall that these 3 players were instrumental in England winning the Ashes in 2005. The side coming out to Australia this summer is the same one, if not a stronger one, that has successfully performed at a consistently high level since those heady days of England’s summer of 2009. I think Australian cricket fans will be brought down to earth and experience a sobering reality check this summer. Bring it on!

    • Richard M says:

      05:18pm | 04/11/10

      Well, I rest my case.

    • Rory BH says:

      07:40pm | 04/11/10

      I think Richard M might be struggling to understand the meaning of arrogance. There is nothing arrogant about receiving an OBE, or giving one for that matter. Perhaps a bit of an overreaction but certainly not arrogant.
      Also Richard, during the last series in Oz, you had an awesome team. That (sadly for you) is no longer the case although some of your young / new players seem to think they are comparable to warne, McGrath, Hayden etc. Now that is arrogant.

    • Another Pom says:

      11:30pm | 04/11/10

      I agree.  Aussie test side is imploding now.  Worst players and more than that worst selectors and the ACB hating their old players like warne and McCgrath who should be selectors.

    • Richard M says:

      11:50am | 05/11/10

      “Arrogant: making unwarrantable claims or pretensions to superior importance or rights; overbearingly assuming; insolently proud.” (Macquarie Dictionary)  If that doesn’t describe the giving and receiving of a totally unwarranted Royal decoration for winning one series against us, I don’t know what does.  It also perfectly describes claims , like those above, to superiority before the series has even started.  Of course, you may win, given the problems our team is currently having, but to make such claims now is premature, foolish and, yes, arrogant.  As for the charge that some of our young/new players “seem to think they are comparable to Warne” etc, well that is just utter rubbish.  There has been no behaviour or statements of any kind that would lead to any such conclusion.  Frankly, that is just typical Pommy mischief-making.

    • kg says:

      01:16pm | 04/11/10

      That’s the second time Australia stole defeat from the jaws of victory. Their retaliation this friday will reflect a lot on their character.  Personally, Clarke should have a go again as captain. You can gain a lot of insight into a person when the chips are down and your rock bottom. Just ask Laxman, Malinga and Angelo Mathews. Heck even ask Collingwood (Cardiff). I think that is what we lack.

      Reply

    • Steve says:

      01:17pm | 04/11/10

      Well done to the Sri Lankan’s, great effort. This game again expossed our total lack of captaincy and general direction in the game of cricket at present. The decision to go to India as preperation for an Australian Ashes campaign remains a mystery! 
      Australia need to find a genuine captain and true leader. Ponting is a great player, not a great captain and is nearing the end of a great career. Clarke is not the answer, he lacks the creditenials, is reactive not proactive! Also hasn’t the support and trust from the playing group due to his continued push to be everything the ACB wants in a captain. He sold out on his mate Symonds, also had passing shots at team mates for playing in the IPL and even ditched his fiance so it didnt effect his image. Not the ideal way to manage team mates l would have thought!
      It all combines for a very interesting summer. PS: If ashes are lost to the Poms, Punter and the pup may need to go for a walk!!

      Reply

    • SM says:

      01:17pm | 04/11/10

      I’ll be more inclined to watch cricket this summer given that Australia aren’t continually destroying everyone they play.

      Reply

    • Bevan Read says:

      01:30pm | 04/11/10

      Australian had one of world cricket’s mentally toughest players a couple of years back, but they dropped him for going fishing and going to the pub to watch some footy. While I appreciate Andrew Symonds doesn’t fit the mould required by the establishment, I wonder if we need more of players like him, and less of the players obsessed with their image. If a players preparation includes time in front of the mirror, perhaps they should move aside for players who don’t mind a beer with their mates while watching the footy. Sadly, Australian cricket is reaping what they’ve sowed!

      Reply

    • SM says:

      02:03pm | 04/11/10

      Andrew Symonds = mentally tough?

      lol

    • Somebody says:

      02:18pm | 04/11/10

      You must be joking Bevan saying Andrew Symonds is mentally tough.

    • Mark says:

      02:55pm | 04/11/10

      Spot on!. Clarke worked Symonds out of the side because he was threatened by him. Now Clarke and Nielsen have engineered a side thats soft. The current side are more interested in themselves and making sure team rules are followed than winning cricket matches.

    • Richard says:

      06:12pm | 04/11/10

      SM and Somebody have got their heads up their arses. The fall and decline of Australian cricket over the last I believe is entwined with the shocking treatment Andrew Symonds received from CA and his own so-called “mates”, the “leadership group” of his team.

      Fair go, he was THE BEST fielder in the world, a truly powerful and destructive batsmen and a handy versatile bowler. He was undisputedly the most proficient T20 player in the world, and loved by all the fans. Yet he was hung out to dry by CA over the monkey-calling incident, torn to shreds for watching a State of Origin game (SoO means alot to us Qld’ers), and ultimately had his career sacrificed on the altar of Clarke and Ponting’s captaincy ego. And for what, an innocent Top End fishing trip in the off season? Shame CA, Shame Ponting, Shame Clarke.

      That saga was when we all started to realise how Unaustralian our cricket team has really become, when they didn’t have the guts to stand up for one of its own against a pack of leering snide Indians, when they made it a crime to be a normal red-blooded Aussie bloke, and when mateship counted for nothing anymore because he happened to be more popular than both Clarke and Ponting put together, because he wasn’t a poncy metro girl or a meek little wuss.

      Now Australian fans don’t care about them anymore. I, like Ant, found myself unexpectedly cheering on the Sri Lankans, and willing them on to the most unlikely of victories. I couldn’t help but feel so happy for Murali as he scored the winning runs last night; and for the first time in my life, I felt ashamed of our once proud cricket team.

    • nathan says:

      02:25am | 05/11/10

      Good call!!

    • Cynical GoatWA says:

      01:33pm | 04/11/10

      When a side is 8 for 100 odd chasing 240, there is NO WAY that they should be able to get up and win without some incompetency being exhibited by the opposition. Whether its inept captaincy, poor bowling, subpar fielding or something that we are only too quick to point the finger at the sub-continent teams for it’s simply not good enough. The Australian cricket team bathed in the glory of 2 decades of cricket domination. Now that the golden era has ended, then its about time they swallowed a bag of cement and hardened the f**k up to cope with the well deserved criticism. We can handle getting beaten when the team has a crack, but when there are players pulling on the tasty lemon outfits, that are simply there to pick up a pay cheque, then the public rightly gets pissed.
      The excuses are starting to wear thin.

      Reply

    • Somebody says:

      02:23pm | 04/11/10

      Well said. As an Australian supporter I have no problem them loosing if they put up a good fight and give their all. But what I saw last night was almost shocking and keeping in mind the ashes are just around the corner. Australia has lost the mental edge they had over others now it seems every other nation has the mental edge over them.

      The poms must be loving it.

    • Shaun Newman says:

      01:51pm | 04/11/10

      When will the selectors select players on skill and form rather than politics. If this were done Michael Clarke, Steve Smith and a few others would never have gotten a game. Until the selectors pick the best 11 Australia will continue to decline.

      Reply

    • SM says:

      02:06pm | 04/11/10

      Clarke and Smith are, without a doubt, among the top 12 cricketers in Australia in terms of 50 over cricket.

    • James W says:

      02:08pm | 04/11/10

      Australia- not looking so good now the opposition are not being paid to lose

      Reply

    • Steve says:

      02:09pm | 04/11/10

      To me the golden era of Australian cricket wasn’t the years in the past decade where our team was this unassailable juggernaut that couldn’t be stopped. For me it was the earlier eras when there was actually some competition. Now that Australia’s not stomping all over the opposition and games are becoming less predictable it might become fun to watch again. Sure I like my team to win but when they win all the time? Takes the fun out of it in my opinion. You want them to be good but not unbeatable.

      Reply

    • mike says:

      04:34pm | 04/11/10

      i think aussie took money to lose the match, how on earth can a team chase 140 odd run with 2 wickets in hand…..

      Reply

    • Trish says:

      05:29pm | 04/11/10

      I hope Lee Furlong is made to eat her words saying the Pommie’s are going to need as much help as they can get…It looks like her hubbys side that is going to need it!!...What a washout that game was I could hardly believe what I was watching…

      Reply

    • Nevyn says:

      05:33pm | 04/11/10

      As Mick Doohan once put it
      “the only thing left to do once you win a championship, is to lose it”

      Reply

    • LL says:

      05:59pm | 04/11/10

      “At this point, the match looked over. Done and dusted. What’s on the box at 8.30?”

      But it wasn’t over, that is why 50 over cricket is better than 20-20, batsmen have time to settle in and win a game.

      Reply

    • scott says:

      08:33am | 05/11/10

      Thank you for your comments LL, couldnt have put it better myself.. Test match and 50 over cricket is why i love cricket. It is a contest for a start and allows for far more exciting for me than 20-20 which can be won or lost in the first over.. How boring is that??

    • Dazeddazza says:

      06:05pm | 04/11/10

      It’s called “sport”.  They were better than us.

      Reply

    • paku11 says:

      06:11pm | 04/11/10

      Aussies kept telling that they dont care abt the rankings when they were at the top. they continue to say so, but this time more to avoid the issue of being lower than the poms in tests and not being able to win in odi and t20s.
      at the end of the day, as much as cricket is a team game, you need to have talented individuals to perform in the team, which they had in SW, GM, AG, JL,MH. even i could’ve led that team to victories around the world.
      Current time is when you realise how many passengers you carry around the talented individuals in a team.
      also, cricket is a gentleman’s game, not metrosexuals’.

      Reply

    • MarkHW says:

      06:55pm | 04/11/10

      MarkHW

      Missed seeing our batting, but the bowling in the final 20 overs were the usual bunch of short-of-length balls designed to be dispatched, which they were, to the boundary. The number of yorkers I could count on one hand. Our bowlers now seem to rely on the batsmen getting themselves out.

      Reply

    • Howzat says:

      08:02pm | 04/11/10

      Oh the hand wringing, the lip biting…it was one game! The sky is falling, the sky is falling!

      Clarke will be the next Australian Captain, there is NO ONE else (and no I am not a supporter at all)

      Reply

    • Mr Pod says:

      08:24pm | 04/11/10

      These exciting cricket internationals need to be played at my local park, the stadium looked embarrassingly deserted at least in the park there are always poeple wandering around jogging and walking dogs which would help looking empty.

      Reply

    • stephen says:

      08:51pm | 04/11/10

      I still reckon - and I heard once John Howard say otherwise - that this 20/20 stuff is for numbskulls.
      Analogy : It’s like when yer got a passenger in yer car with ya, right, and he/she is forever telling you about shortcuts, and saying we can save time by going this way, as if us no-hopers got a UN meeting in half an hour to arrive pronto.(Haven’t really). So we race around corners like a blue-arsed-fly (assed?)going somewhere, really fast. And where are we going ? Well, no-where really, but we sure did get there quick…
      This dopey cricket game’s like that, except it’s a couple of dozen blue-arsed-flys who debase the meaning of the ‘journey’.
      Think about it.

      Reply

    • Tj says:

      09:22pm | 04/11/10

      This is Australian life and Australian sport these days. I am an elite sports coach . For the past 7 years I have worked in China for the Chinese Sports commission. Recently I have switched sides to The AIS for the past 3 months. I am absolutely shocked at the prima donna attitude of our athletes. So soft yet so demanding. Lets talk cricket… How can Shaun Tate demand only to play 20/ 20 bowl 4 overs a week tripe. No way should this be permitted. Make yourself available for all forms of cricket… Jesus. Where are the Lillees. the Linwalls, Miller etc. This type of attitude is indicative of the new Aussie sporting culture. Meanwhile China takes over

      Reply

    • Karl Penrith says:

      10:27pm | 04/11/10

      Australia has very few young men growing up with their father to learn to be strong and competitive in a masculine sense. The Australian Family Court decided 20 years ago to give all children, male and female almost exclusively into their mother’s custody.  So, our young men are more and more feminine, having had little male training and no male role model. Look at the teams who are winning. They are from countries where there are atomic families and where males and fathers have not been demoinzed and exiled from family life and child rearing by a family court system dominated by militant feminists who were determined to break down the tradtional family structure and give all family decision making to women.

      Reply

    • nathan says:

      10:35pm | 04/11/10

      Build ir and they will come! I speak of leadership….i know we are refering to the ODI however as the writer mentions….Its Australian Cricket that is in trouble.
      I am a 34 year old male who has watched cricket since…well when cricket was entertaining and classy. Now i am in a state of mourning…because yes i believe Australian Cricket to be dead….now people will say i am being over dramatic…well i just might be, but it means that much to me.
      Here is where i think we got it wrong…. As i said Leadership…people will always follow a good leader…Someone with confidence, with ability, with strength, with self belief, someone who can look a storm in the eye and not falter….obviously i am refering to the Ice Man aka Steve Waugh! Steve was the ultimate leader, he had an air of arrogance but was not arrogant he was unapolagetic, he was stern as hard as nails and boy could he drive that ball through the covers (you know the shot), and when the pressure was on he was COOL!!!!!
      Now Ricky Ponting is a fair batsmen, but he doesnt demand respect, he doesnt lead with strength….i still see him as a boy who can weild a bat pretty good, but a leader NO!
      It is the Australian Cricket board who are responsible for this….and sadly i think it is too late…for this former cricket fanatic anyway!

      Reply

    • Potman says:

      11:08pm | 04/11/10

      1 & 2: Watson & Katich are a no-brainer at the top of the order.
      3: Ponting needs to be quietly told he should hand over the captaincy. Have never been a fan of his captaincy, especially since the 434 one-dayer in S.Africa. Still in good form with the bat to continue at #3. Haddin can hold the captaincy for a few years.
      4: Clarke can still bat. He just can’t captain. Not mentally or tactically strong enough.
      5: Ferguson or Khawaja. Or even Paine as a specialty batsmen, with the view of him taking over from Haddin in the near future, as well as gaining experience as a possible future captain. Same story with Ferguson.
      6: Haddin
      7: Steve Smith
      8: Hilfenhaus
      9: Does anybody know why Stuart Clarke is not still playing?
      10: Specialty bowler, depending on the pitch (Siddle, Harris or Johnson if form warrants it, Hauritz for a spinners wicket)
      11: Bollinger

      Say what you want about Hauritz, he’s a useful bowler, especially if used in tandem with another spinner. With a good Captian, who knows?
      Also, when Johnson’s on fire, he IS the best bowler we have. It’s just a shame he only has one in four series on song. Still has quite a good strike rate, but leaks runs.
      We have two great young guys that could be future captains in Paine & Ferguson, but they should have some time to play as a vice captain before having to take over.

      Reply

    • karl says:

      12:05am | 05/11/10

      what about Roy? surely we can excuse those beers now.

      Reply

    • cass says:

      05:33am | 05/11/10

      I just wanna say that I think that it’s hilarious that the aussies are finally being taken down a peg or two.  The arrogant smirks are being wiped from their faces and I love it.  Come on England!!

      Reply

    • Richard M says:

      10:18pm | 05/11/10

      In my experience, its Poms who specialise in arrogant smirks, not Aussies.  We are an open and friendly people - competitive, yes, but always looking to have a beer with our opponents after the game.  On the other hand, look up “patronising” in the dictionary and there’ll probably be a picture of a Pom with an arrogant smirk talking about “colonials” and “convicts”.  Beating you pompous bastards regularly at sport is just one way of getting a little of our own back.  When you look down your noses at us, we just love shoving something up them.

    • Rory bh says:

      02:32am | 06/11/10

      Get a grip Richard for heavens sake. Stop being so pathetic!
      Your cricket team loses a few games in a row and you start slandering a whole nation? Unreal.

      Man up fella…

    • Andrew says:

      07:29am | 05/11/10

      Being the Australian Cricket Captain in any form of the game is not a popularity competition.  The whole team with the inclusion of the sectors need to be reviewed.  Both Ponting and Clarke are cut from the same cloth.  It is easy to Captain a side with the best of the best.  We are now seeing that with a different makeup the true talents or lack there of from both Ponting and Clarke.  Ponting is a one trick pony. Even people who do not watch cricket know that if he wins the toss, he will bat.  Regardless of the pitch, opposition, weather, day of the week etc, etc.  This alone makes beating the Aussies just that bit easier.  M. Clarke should just focus on marketing himself and leave the game for a while.

      Reply

    • Ian says:

      08:36am | 05/11/10

      Few points..Sri Lanka & India have improved in recent years as was always going to be the case with more money , improved standards and better coaching..as with any competition, teams go up and down, witness the West Indies might in the 70’s-90’s and Australia’s struggle from the 80’s to reach the heights they achieved ..ok, so now the rest of the teams are more competitive great!..we just need the Cricket bosses to stand up and make a few hard decisions like get smart and support the game the people want to see 20/20..also give a spirit injection to Test cricket by providing a competion ladder (which thankfully they are working on?) Australia used to dominate world tennis once so drawing from that comparison Cricket Australia needs to improve it’s selection process and development of players or history might just be repeated?

      .

      Reply

    • Dan says:

      08:49am | 05/11/10

      Play the entire Tassie team in the Australia uniform and we might get a win!

      Reply

    • Megan says:

      09:50am | 05/11/10

      I just don’t get it? Is this the best of the best in Australia we’re seeing
      playing cricket? I am not convinced. I’ve seen better more fired up players hungry to win, at local games, who can do better than some players in the Australian team. How about a new scout around for tlalent? and spending time on young players with potential preparing them to step up further on down the track? Like many I am questioning what the hell is going on? Nine losses in a row shows something is missing and terribly wrong in the Australian team. Australia should not give up but look at finding the problem, and doing all they can to fix it.
      How about some good old Aussie support being thrown in there right now! Cricket greats could play a major role right now, like Shane Warne, the Waugh brothers, Matthew Hayden, Gillie’, the worst thing to do is abandon the Australian team when their morale is low and going downhill, they need our support, not feeling abandoned. I disagree that criciket is over for Australia, because its not! all it takes is to get these boys back on track, to focus on winning again, improving play, and getting out there to do the job! Giving up is not the option right now but digging in! Michael Clarke made a blue during an interview live after the game with Sri Lanka, but thats inexperience and no experience yet at being captain. He’ll no doubt learn from that, and get it right fast!  I say it again its not all over for Australian cricket and we should not be so hasty to write it all off, however players with talent are needed even more than ever in that team, with the passion like ‘Watto” for the game!
      If Australia thinks they’re doing badly, NZ is in even more strife with their game being beaten by Bangladesh! Time to regroup, think through the issues, identify the needs and get to bloody work to get it all right again,, a winner never quits and a quitter never wins! It is un Australian to quit and give up so eaily! Currently the Australian team has had big shoes to fill, with the likes of Warnie’, Hayden, Steve and Mark Waugh,
      Gillie, now retired, but those players must find out who they are, not compare themselves to the past cricket greats, once they find that out, they can plan and develop their game to improve, and aim at first class cricket performance. The barrier to overcome right now is in the players heads, dealing with the psychological effects and impact of losses,
      which act to only hinder their performance and perceptionf from other teams. IT takes backbone character and strength to fight back, but fight back they must, where they must WIN their next game, or continue on in the cycle of losses! Australia still has a choice here, and choose to win they must!

    • mark says:

      09:22am | 05/11/10

      and nothing of value was lost

      Reply

    • Ben says:

      10:06am | 05/11/10

      Rabble! Well I suppose thats one way of looking at it…
      Any cricket side which has a winning combination as we have had for such a long time obviously when they retire the team needs to be rebuilt. It is a rare thing a team can stay together for so long as it had and due to form no one being able to squeeze in. I certainly dont think rabble simple cricket Australia needs to build from the ground up. Only half our bowlers have had a full apprecticeship and we need to work through the batting line up. Be prepared to blood some players.

      Reply

    • Mick says:

      10:33am | 05/11/10

      Maybe we could bring back Border, The Chappells ,Lillee,Thommo etc would have to be better than the current rabble

      Reply

    • Ben says:

      01:10pm | 05/11/10

      Cricket Australia need to be prepared to loose quite a few to start winning again. It happens in all sports great teams come and go and if you want to be great again you need to rebuild. The AFL is a perfect example. The English cricet team the same.

      Reply

    • Biteme says:

      02:28pm | 07/11/10

      I refuse to watch the cricket because of all the Commonwealth Bank logos.

      Reply

    • MarkJay says:

      10:02pm | 27/11/10

      Fully agree with Larry De Silva on sledging and Geoff.
      The Gabba test is on - The Ashes. As I have feared this aussie team have come out fighting and have dominated day 3.  Aussies may go on to win the Gabba test no visiting team has won there so it is no disgrace to lose there. However I agree with Geoff this is England’s best chance in decades to beat these arrogant aussies in their own backyard. Hopefully England can escape with a draw. However they should forget about Brisbane and focus on the rest of the Ashes Series, they should stay positive and remember they are well capable of beating this particular aussie side. Though it obviosly won’t be easy, England certainly has the team to do it. As Ian Botham said this ashes is England’s to lose. Good Luck England and I second Geoff C’mon England! Win the Ashes.

      Reply

    • Ian Grantham says:

      06:44pm | 15/12/10

      You wont win ANYthing when the other teams pick their best and for some crazy reason OUR best is left out - David Warner should be there - batting at No 5 - to hit a quick fire 50 of 2 or 3 balls. But seriously, why aren’t the best picked, and the fact is D. Warner IS of them - just why isnt he there?

      Reply
 
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