Sack John Buchanan & Ponting before 5th Test please

[acker]

Totally has lost the plot ? Steve Waugh barely suffered the fool, unfortunately weaker captain "Ponting" has over-relied on him. Unfortunately to the extent where this incompetent overated conditioning coach has been given too much oxygen in desicion making with the national side when his own carreer struggled to maintain a position in local Brisbane grade cricket let alone his one or two matches at state level. Trevor Hohns is another oxygen theif who may as well be terminated from his contract prior to being able to disrupt the natural dropping of deadwood in the Australian batting line-up prior to the next test, namely hopeless Hayden and kant hit Katich. Unfortunately the previous approach of they will bat or bowl them selves into form has'nt worked this time for these red wine loving free-loaders; we are getting flogged in test 4 because of the pom's good form and preperation and because of our lack of preperation (BUCHANAN). If I wished Shane Warne captain an Australian team, it would be the 5th Test because I now beleive Ponting is incapable of doing it. I also hope that the Hussey brother's are considered to come in, in place of the woefull Hayden & Katich "PLEASE". I have allready written this test off as a loss.

My team 5th Test in batting order

J.Langer
A.Gilchrist
R.Ponting
D.Martyn
M.Hussey
M.Clarke
D.Hussey
S.Warne....(captain)
B.Lee
S.Tait
G.McGrath

Any resemblence of the batting order including Hayden and Katich or the selection of Kasprowicz or Gillespie in the bowling line-up I will consider an acceptance by the selectors of our losing the Ashes prior to the commencement of the next match.
As will I consider Ponting's continued appalling captaincy.

[Zainub]

A lot of your suggestions sound fairly knee jerk to me, no offence obviously. A team that's been the best in the world for so long, that's basically gone everywhere in the world and won, and you're prepaired to rule 'em out all in a matter of three tests' time, and they've still only lost one game in that period, that too by just the 2 runs (and that too as some would say thanks to a dodgy decision by the umpire in the end). All credit due to England still.

If I were you, I'd not lose hope this early. Katich is still not out in the 2nd innings, playing an important innings. And Ponting too has the 2nd inning too to make errands for his bad field placing in the 1st innings. Plus there is the 5th test left to go too.

[Rachael]

Originally Posted by acker

Any resemblence of the batting order including Hayden and Katich or the selection of Kasprowicz or Gillespie in the bowling line-up I will consider an acceptance by the selectors of our losing the Ashes prior to the commencement of the next match.

Um - Kasprowicz has been FAR more impressive than Tait OR Lee in this Test: Lee was just too short all the time (on a pitch where anything short would get murdered) and Tait looks about as suited to Test bowling as Courtney Walsh was to Test batting: he's a disgrace, with an action that shouldn't have been allowed to develop in the first place and which should certainly not be allowed to contaminate even first class cricket.

England are entirely beatable: they do there level best to beat themselves and only need to be allowed to do so. Alas, the way to do it is to deny them balls to hit... and Lee only does that 4-5 balls in 6 ona good day... and Tait's not even that good. At this ground.. Gillespie would surely have been a better bet than either.

As for the batting: Gilchrist should be first for the chop.... and I'd agree that Hayden sucks... but thus far the rest have been as successive England sides have been in 20+ years: perfectly adequate... yet screwing up. This current England batting line up isn't any better than those of the past.. and the Aussie line up isn't any worse - and those who've created the mess should be left to finish the job they started... and any onlookers should just accept that the difference between triumph and disaster is not so great after all.

Even very good sides screw up. Some, like those England sides of the 90s, make a habit of it: doesn't mean they were more than a bit of good fortune away from being successful!

[Zainub]

Rach,

I think you're being a bit unkind on Tait, I actually expected him to struggle, which he did for a greater part, but for some one who was playing his very first test I don't think he bowled all THAT badly. And his action certainly isn't as hideous as you make it sound, certainly is unorthodox, but might well be very affective. He's in my opinion one of the few positives the Austarlians can take out from their first inning's performance. And he too like all the other Australian bowlers do have another innings to get around thier mistakes.

And Casper, whom you claim bowled very well, something I do not disagree with completely, certainly will have no one but him self to blame if people do indeed question his performance, no matter ho well you bowl or how unlucky you've been (I believe just 2 catches were dropped of his bowling, one of them being a C&B chance), bowling the amount of no-balls he did ...that simply cannot be justified, not in any form or level of the game.

The only person who should be dropped in my opinion as of today is Hayden, and he shouldn't have been picked in the first place, for the NZ tour, let alone the Ashes squad. He's been making the same mistakes for a good 18 months - being over confident, being unrespectful and being stuborn, refusing to adapt. He struggled in India, then struggled against NZ at home, and then again at Pakistan, and I can't recall him having done too much of note before that in Sri Lanka or at home to India either. That is a good 6 or 7 series he clearly under performed, he shouldn't have gone to NZ. Full stop.

Katich meanwhile, as I said is still not out in the 2nd innings. And might well make some (very) important runs. He certainly did look alrigh in the 1st innings, before throwing it away with a poor shot. Hopefully he's learned his lesson this time.

[acker]

To many players Gillespie and Hayden are being retained on the premise that they are one match away from finding something which continualy never seems to come. That's poor selecting hence the blame lies squarely on head selector Trevor Hohns shoulder's. Also the batsmen seem surprised at what they are being bowled by the english bowlers, thats poor preperation not knowing what your opponent is going to do; the blame for that lies squaely on John Buchanan's head.

[vvvrulz]

I think its generally unfair to target Buchanan. As soon as ANY team takes a slide, its the coach thats the first to go. One musn't forget that these Aussies dominated the game under Buchanan.

However selection worries should be looked at, like acker mentioned, Hayden and Gillespie were around just a little too long.

[Rachael]

Originally Posted by Zainub

Rach [...] I think you're being a bit unkind on Tait [...] his action certainly isn't as hideous as you make it sound.

Um... is certainly is! Two things: {i} he's collapsing at the crease... and despite being a very tall man is actually releasing the ball from the sort of height most 12 year olds could manage (a good 2' lower than he should be); and {ii} he's rotating horizontally through the delivery stride..... with the left foot coming way across his body as if he's going to run off the pitch on the other side of the wicket... and then his right foot slewing around to take him off the pitch in the direction of the covers.

There's so much going on in that delivery stride that the guy is unlikely to ever build real pressure: he might get the odd good spell when it all works each and every time... but most of the time he's goign to spray the ball around.. and that's unlikely to improve with experience. Get him on a pitch with a LOT of pace... and he might be a handful... and sure, if he can get reverse swing he'll get wickets... but he'll most ly just lose his side matches by going for 100+ runs in every innings.

James Kirtley had more Test class about him!

[acker]

Australian cricket was ticking along nicely long before John Buchanan got a run. Bobby Simpson and Geoff Marsh often dont get the recognition they deserve for building the modern Australian team.

Nor does the "Godfather" of the both current ashes team's Rodney Marsh, who after re-establishing a junior to senior development plan in Australia, then left and set one up in England which appears to be paying dividends now.

Interesting I remember Rodney Marsh talking on TV during an ashes series in the nineties, where he expressed his concern about the decline in English cricket and how it was damaging cricket as a whole ; he also indictated English crickets problems needed to be fixed from the junior level. Low and behold a couple of years later Rodney leaves his position as cheif of the Australian Cricket academy and takes charge of England's.

Englands coaching staff have re-set the bar as to coaching standards, pre - match preperation and the England players have shown a much higher standard of proffesionalism (managing one's self) than the Australians.

[Zainub]

He is a bit round arm - but I guess that's ok, there have been several successful test bowlers with fairly round arm actions ...Jack Kallis doesn't get his arm too straight...and I'm sure there have been more, just that I can't seem to recall their names...He might want to change his approach to crease a little bit, and consider actually looking at his target spot on the pitch or indeed the batsman just as he's about to bowl. He's young though, and the only way anyone in that position can go is up - i.e. improve.

So long as someone natutal action is legal I'm always a little bit skeptical of tinkering with it, especially after seeing what such exercises did to Jimmy Anderson...I'd say Tait at most probably needs just a little bit of fune tuning ...no dramtic changes...it's better to let him bowl in the way he finds him self natutally most comfortable in

[Beny]

Um - Kasprowicz has been FAR more impressive than Tait OR Lee in this Test: Lee was just too short all the time (on a pitch where anything short would get murdered) and Tait looks about as suited to Test bowling as Courtney Walsh was to Test batting: he's a disgrace, with an action that shouldn't have been allowed to develop in the first place and which should certainly not be allowed to contaminate even first class cricket.

LOL Rach!

Holding was'nt impreassed either... There was disdain in his voice everytime he mentioned Tait. I like him though and he's been far better than Kaspa who's bowled more NBs and he is'nt even a quick.

Acker,

I agree that Hayden and Gillespie need to be kept out but including David Hussy (just dropped by Victoria), and droping Katich is a bit knee jerk... As is removing the captaincy of Ponting and giving it to Warne (which I agree with in principle but not in reality). Opening the Test batting with Gilly is just silly... especialy since he has'nt really done much better than Hayden in this series and Mike Hussy is an opening bat.