Australian cricket team 2011
Posted: Fri Jan 07, 2011 11:08 am
So who stays and who goes after the Ashes 2010/11 debacle do you think?
Administration
The decisions to insist on players participating in T20 tournaments rather than preparing properly for Test Series were appalling. It may have ended up costing Doug Bollinger his Test career. Not organising a proper series of warm-up games in the lead up to the Ashes starting - unforgiveable. Not sure whether this is James Sutherland's responsibility, but surely somebody has to pay the price for these decisions?
Selectors, coaching and support staff
Tim Neilson has presided over the worst and quickest decline in Australian Test team standard in history (not counting the World Series schism in the 80s). While a decline was inevitable with the departure of players such as Haydn, Waugh, Gilchrist, McGrath and Warne, the magnitude of the fall has been astonishing. More worrying is the seeming lack of any strategic approach to rebuilding going on. Phil Hughes has a couple of low scores in England and gets dropped. And then gets replaced by someone who is not a career opener! Hughes then gets brought back at a crucial moment in the next Ashes series and is then pilloried for not being an instant success. Yet other players seem to be allowed to persist despite ongoing lack of form - Hilfenhaus and Johnson being the glaring examples in the bowling department and Clarke and Ponting (and Hussey apart from a couple of good innings at the start of the Ashes) in the batting lineup. Consistency? Logic?
This team has more support staff than at any other time in Australian cricketing history. Where is the evidence than the specialist batting and bowling coaches are having the slightest positive effect? Rather than going and figuring out things for themselves, today's players seem to be expecing to have all their problems solved for them by the coaching staff. And while waiting for play to start at the SCG on Monday, a short video interview was shown on the scoreboard with a woman who's sole job in the support staff seems to be pouring Gatorade from a dispenser into individuals' water-bottles. Apparently it is VERY important that players get the right colour Gatorade. I am not making this up.
I would say, have one coach, one fitness instructor and one team manager. Get rid of everyone else.
Players
As players will hardly ever leave of their own accord (why would they? they get paid enourmous sums of money), selectors need to be much more brutal when it comes to getting rid of players once they start the inevitable decline. Ponting and Hussey should have been shown the door after the last Ashes series. Johnson and Hilfenhaus have been persisted with for far too long. Watson has been continued with as an opener despite him continuing to demostrate he does not have the required mindset of an opener. So, my suggestions would be:
Give Hughes an extended run as opener. Assure him that if he gets a couple of low scores in a row that is not going to put his place in jeopardy. Put someone like Shaun Marsh with him. Khawaja has shown enough that he should be put in at 3. I would give Clarke a run at 4, but needs to start performing quickly (maybe White or David Hussey are options here, but I'm not convinced about either of them at Test level). Then bring in Cosgrove at 5. Watson is dropped down to the spot where he should be batting at, No. 6 and follow him with Haddin. Not sure what to do about the bowlers - I'd be bring back Hauritz with an eye to replacing him with O'Keefe in the next year or two. Bollinger needs to come back into the team, but then who else? Harris is too injury prone and I'm not sure the next generation are ready yet - Starc, Copeland, etc.
Thoughts?
Administration
The decisions to insist on players participating in T20 tournaments rather than preparing properly for Test Series were appalling. It may have ended up costing Doug Bollinger his Test career. Not organising a proper series of warm-up games in the lead up to the Ashes starting - unforgiveable. Not sure whether this is James Sutherland's responsibility, but surely somebody has to pay the price for these decisions?
Selectors, coaching and support staff
Tim Neilson has presided over the worst and quickest decline in Australian Test team standard in history (not counting the World Series schism in the 80s). While a decline was inevitable with the departure of players such as Haydn, Waugh, Gilchrist, McGrath and Warne, the magnitude of the fall has been astonishing. More worrying is the seeming lack of any strategic approach to rebuilding going on. Phil Hughes has a couple of low scores in England and gets dropped. And then gets replaced by someone who is not a career opener! Hughes then gets brought back at a crucial moment in the next Ashes series and is then pilloried for not being an instant success. Yet other players seem to be allowed to persist despite ongoing lack of form - Hilfenhaus and Johnson being the glaring examples in the bowling department and Clarke and Ponting (and Hussey apart from a couple of good innings at the start of the Ashes) in the batting lineup. Consistency? Logic?
This team has more support staff than at any other time in Australian cricketing history. Where is the evidence than the specialist batting and bowling coaches are having the slightest positive effect? Rather than going and figuring out things for themselves, today's players seem to be expecing to have all their problems solved for them by the coaching staff. And while waiting for play to start at the SCG on Monday, a short video interview was shown on the scoreboard with a woman who's sole job in the support staff seems to be pouring Gatorade from a dispenser into individuals' water-bottles. Apparently it is VERY important that players get the right colour Gatorade. I am not making this up.
I would say, have one coach, one fitness instructor and one team manager. Get rid of everyone else.
Players
As players will hardly ever leave of their own accord (why would they? they get paid enourmous sums of money), selectors need to be much more brutal when it comes to getting rid of players once they start the inevitable decline. Ponting and Hussey should have been shown the door after the last Ashes series. Johnson and Hilfenhaus have been persisted with for far too long. Watson has been continued with as an opener despite him continuing to demostrate he does not have the required mindset of an opener. So, my suggestions would be:
Give Hughes an extended run as opener. Assure him that if he gets a couple of low scores in a row that is not going to put his place in jeopardy. Put someone like Shaun Marsh with him. Khawaja has shown enough that he should be put in at 3. I would give Clarke a run at 4, but needs to start performing quickly (maybe White or David Hussey are options here, but I'm not convinced about either of them at Test level). Then bring in Cosgrove at 5. Watson is dropped down to the spot where he should be batting at, No. 6 and follow him with Haddin. Not sure what to do about the bowlers - I'd be bring back Hauritz with an eye to replacing him with O'Keefe in the next year or two. Bollinger needs to come back into the team, but then who else? Harris is too injury prone and I'm not sure the next generation are ready yet - Starc, Copeland, etc.
Thoughts?