The Ponting Dilemma

Cricket is rarely a fairytale. Just ask Gavin Hamilton (one test cap, where he bagged a pair and went wicketless), a succession of South African captains in World Cups and Keegan Meth. But every now and again, a moment comes along where everything just falls into place, and someone has the chance to do something mythical.

Ricky Ponting is one of the greatest players of our generation; indeed of any generation. Even in fifty years his name will be spoken about reverentially by those lucky enough to have seen him. The three successive World Cups. Being captain of perhaps the greatest team to have ever played. Over 26,000 international runs. An international career thus far spanning 16 years, representing his country during their greatest era of success. There is no doubting Ricky Ponting's pedigree, yet coming into this innings, the 267th of his test career, the calls were growing for it to be his last.

Without a century in 23 months, and more incredibly, without a fifty in 11 - Ricky Ponting's form has gone to pieces. No longer the undroppable captain, and averaging well under 20 since the start of 2010, Ricky's presence in the team is becoming increasingly untenable and the idea of him being dropped ever more likely. With every loss and batting collapse come further calls for a change to be made to a brittle Australian batting line-up, and Ponting, for so long the backbone that held it together, could be the fall guy for yet another series defeat.

Ricky Ponting doesn't deserve for it to end that way. For everything he's given Australian cricket - world cricket - our last memory of Ricky shouldn't be of a dishevelled shell of himself unable to cope with the South African bowling, stripped of the captaincy and shunted down the order from his number three spot. For all of his flaws, Ponting deserves a far more dignified end. Tomorrow he'll return to the crease alongside his new captain with 54 runs to his name, and 168 more runs to win. The potential for a Ponting hundred to clinch the game and save the series is so perfectly set up that it's almost been scripted.

But Ponting getting there would create more problems than it solves. In the fairytale, Prince Ricky would hit the match-winning hundred before announcing his retirement and riding off into the sunset upon his noble steed. We've seen it before - what better way to sign off than right at the top after playing an immense innings? And Ponting might well do that. But the trouble is, Ricky Ponting loves playing cricket for Australia. Why else would he be out there? It would have been easy for him to have bowed out when he handed the captaincy over earlier in the year, but his passion for playing ensured he was determined to keep going. As long as he feels he's good enough, he will keep going. And if he is good enough, even at the grand old age of 36 years and 337 days, to score hundreds against the best bowlers in the world, why wouldn't he keep going?

So what if he doesn't get there? The new Australian selectors, headed by John Inverarity, are yet to select a squad of players, let alone a team. With recent Australian failures very much on their minds, the new selectors will certainly want to start afresh, and what better way to signal the start of a new era than to get rid of the man who epitomises the old one? While Ponting has batted very well to get to 54 overnight, even getting to a far more significant score may not be enough to save him.

Ponting deserves the dignity of a memorable test farewell, not being dropped in ignominious circumstances. While it may not be Warne and McGrath bowing out amidst the tickertape of a 5-0 Ashes whitewash, guiding his team home with a century wouldn't be far off. The fairytale ending is set up for Ricky, but even if he got it, would he take it as an ending? The hundred and the win would be the perfect close to a fantastic career, but would the lure of future glories and a Dravidian renaissance (Dravid has 10 test centuries since turning 36) keep him in the Baggy Green? Either way, some big decisions will have be made, either from the Australian selectors or Ricky Ponting himself. The next 46 runs could be the biggest 46 runs in Ponting's career - if he gets there he will prove that the light hasn't gone out, and he is still good enough to score test runs. If not, he might not get the chance to decide. For once, I'll be cheering on Ponting and hoping that he gets there, because after everything he's given to cricket, he deserves to be the one that decides.

2005 v 2011 - Who's Better?

With the current England side looking like it's going to be the best in the world in a couple of weeks, it's natural to wonder if it's the best England side in living memory. Of course, the biggest opposition to that claim is the victors of the greatest series - the class of 2005. Captained by Vaughan, inspired by Freddie at his best and packed with big names, the 2005 vintage battled and beat the best side in the world.

The 2011 lot are also playing the team who are at the summit of test cricket. However, unlike 2005, instead of scraping tight fought victories, they're destroying all before them and sauntering to big wins. This doesn't automatically make the 2011 team better than their 2005 contemporaries, as it's plainly obvious that the opposition in '05 of Warne, McGrath, Gilchrist, Ponting et al are on a slightly higher plain than the current touring Indian side.

However, for me, if the two best England sides of the 21st century were to meet, there'd only be one winner. As good as the 2005 team were, they managed to win the Ashes while carrying a few players. Ashley Giles, a man who's runs at Trent Bridge and the Oval make him a hero amongst men, was hardly the most threatening spinner of the ball. You don't get called the Wheely Bin for nothing. And the 2005 edition of Ian Bell is a far cry from the hardened run-machine currently seen, with a freckly rabbit-in-the-headlights a more apt description. In 2011, there simply isn't that. Everybody pulls their weight.

However, we won't know the true ability of the 2011 side for quite a while. Back in 2005, having won the Ashes, England had the world at their feet. However, a combination of taking their eyes off the ball, untimely injuries and the gradual aging of players meant the side drifted apart and world domination was not reached. As such, the 2005 side is seen as just a one-off - a side that was put together with winning the Ashes in mind, and ultimately they achieved their goal. The key for Andy Flower and Andrew Strauss is to create a legacy - a side that dominates world cricket for years to come.

It's all about the charity

Want to do something good? Well head over to The McGrath Foundation ebay page, where you can bid on some exclusive pink caps signed by the players in the New Years Test from Sydney. Slightly telling that there are quite a few Aussie caps gone without a bid though...


(And if cricket isn't your thing, you can always bid on a wedding dress from Neighbours...)

Finn Musings

Finn's had a nice start to his test career. His first 4 tests were against Bangladesh, which was fun. And he then played four against a Pakistani side who couldn't be bothered to bat.

He hasn't really had much to do in his short career. Without actually doing anything too good, he's found his way onto an Ashes tour with an average of 23. He certainly won't end the tour with an average of 23.

Nobody really knows what Finn will be. Is he a McGrath - someone who probes outside off stump, testing the batsman's technique and being able to seam it around. England don't really do McGraths. We do Harmisons - big, tall fast men who "wang it down" as fast as they can, bouncing it around the batsman's eyes before shattering his stumps.

At the moment, Finn isn't either. He wants to be a McGrath, but at the moment, he's a McGrath without something. He lacks a bit of nip; an X Factor that gets the best batsmen out. As I'm writing (Day 2 Morning of Brisbane test), Finn has bowled half-trackers and half-volleys, been misdirected and malaligned, and hasn't looked like getting anyone out.

Skipper Strauss has told Finn to test Katich and Watson, and has sprayed it around. He hasn't consistently attacked the stumps, he hasn't probed in the corridor, he hasn't really done anything. I'm not sure if I'm saying Finn should or shouldn't be in the side. I'd just like to see him start taking some wickets, otherwise this could be a long tour for England's tallest ever Ashes player.

Ashes Build Up Bingo

We have now entered November - the month the Ashes starts. Unofficially Ashes build-up (such as the "war of words" and "gaining of momentum") has been going on since last August (when Ashes 2009 finished), but now we're into overdrive.

So here's your handy cut out and keep Ashes bingo game. You get one point every time someone comes out and says something here, and when you get enough points, you win a prize. Or something.


Ricky Ponting saying "aw mate" before every answer
An ex Aussie captain claiming England aren't good enough
An ex English captain claiming Australia aren't good enough
KP claiming he's ready and back in form
Shane Watson saying something stupid
An Aussie player writing off an English player
An English player refusing to write off an Aussie player
An English player slagging off John Buchanan
An Aussie player slagging off John Buchanan
John Buchanan slagging off an English or Aussie player
Talk of Michael Clarke taking over as Aussie captain
Talk of Cameron White taking over as Aussie captain
Talk of how well Monty Panesar is bowling in the nets
A stupid injury caused to a key English player talked down by Flower / Strauss
A stupid injury caused to a key English player talked up by associated press
Single figure scores in state cricket being just cause for someone being dropped
Somebody in form touted from nowhere to start in Brisbane
Calls from everywhere for Marcus North to be dropped
Support from Ricky Ponting for Marcus North
Michael Clarke writing something uninteresting on Twitter
Tim Bresnan insulting someone on Twitter
Monty Panesar coming out and saying how well he's "hitting his areas"
Doug Bollinger to feature in an Advanced Hair Studio advert with Shane Warne and Michael Vaughan
English media calling England under prepared
Aussie media calling England over prepared
Steve Finn touted as new Glenn McGrath
Calls for Steve Finn to be dropped for Chris Tremlett
Eoin Morgan getting sunburn
Ex-players / pundits / bloggers / current players calling for Nathan Hauritz to be dropped
Ex-players / pundits / bloggers / current players calling for Marcus North to be dropped
Talk of how a meaningless T20 game v Sri Lanka can affect the outcome of the Ashes
Glenn McGrath to predict a 5-0 Aussie win


To keep up to date with who has the all-important Ashes Momenutum, check out the very handy Ashes Momentum Tracker


Update: 3rd November - Meant to be a facetious list (with the final prediction being the most ridiculous of all), Glenn McGrath predicting a 5-0 whitewash actually happened. Weird.

Ricky Cracking Up?

Australia have lost the final test to India, and have lost the series 2-0. Ricky Ponting has never won a test as captain in India. He's also the only Australian captain in recent memory to have lost an Ashes series (and he's lost two of 'em). While his batting is regarded as being amongst the best in the current era, his captaincy hasn't been so well received.

Yesterday, Ricky watched as his Australian side pissed the match away, losing heavily to a spirited India side. And like all struggling captains, there was obviously criticism. As he watched Australia's new premier spinner Nathan Hauritz toil away ineffectively, Shane Warne felt compelled to have a go on Twitter at his former skipper: "How the hell can Hauritz bowl to this field?? Feeling for Hauritz, terrible!! What are these tactics? Sorry Ricky but what are you doing?". Not sounding good for Ricky.

However, as we often see with football managers who've had success, but their time in charge is coming to an end; the blamed party fails to take responsibility, pushing blame anywhere, and directly attacking the accuser. In his post match reply, Ponting countered that "Every field that Nathan's had to bowl with since he's been here is at his request, it's the fields that he wants to bowl to... unfortunately it doesn't appear that Shane would take the time to ask anyone about that."

This post isn't about Hauritz's field settings; it's about Ricky Ponting's captaincy. Ricky took over the test captaincy in 2004; a time where Australia were the dominant side in world cricket. Apart from an Ashes loss in 2005, his early years as captain were very successful. But to be honest, most captains would do well when the options are to throw the ball to Warne, McGrath or Lee. But since the retirements of the greats, direct questions have started to be asked about Ponting's captaincy. The failure to drop out of form batsmen and blood new talent, the lack of trust in new bowlers, the poor field settings... and the loss of series that Australia were favourites to win. While the football cliché that he's "lost the dressing room" hasn't been used yet, it might not be far off.

After giving Michael Clarke T20 duties on a full-time role, it would seem Ricky is slowly easing himself out of captaining Australia. He's been captain in one form or another since 2003 - a very long time in international cricket. Ricky may be feeling the pressure; and if another Ashes series is lost, his time at the top may be over.

SMN: Ian Bell - "I don't really want to go to Australia"

While continuing his rehabilitation from his foot injury which has seen him miss out on the current England-Pakistan test series, Ian Bell has surprisingly revealed that he "doesn't really want to" go Down Under for this winter's Ashes tour.


Another ball bounces off Bell during last years Ashes


Bell, who still carries the scars (both mentally and physically) of previous Ashes humiliations, announced to Short Midwicket News that he would prefer to miss out on the tour in order to "have a nice Christmas with the family; play a bit of golf, have a bit of me-time".

Warwickshire batsman Bell, 28, boasts an overall test average of 43 , but this is boosted by his average of 378 against Bangladesh. However, against the fearsome Australians, he averages a measly 8.2. "I still have nightmares" confesses Bell, who is visibly shaken at the mention of Warne and McGrath. "The Aussies have ruined American Pie for me", continued the Sherminator lookalike, who had begun to rock in his chair.

England chairman of selectors Geoff Miller seemed upset that Bell appears set to miss out on his fourth Ashes, but revealed that Bell was only in the team for ethnic reasons. "Belly used to fill the quotas for us; he was our only ginger. But now with Collingwood and Morgan in the side, I see no reason for us to pick him. He really isn't that good", before adding "but what a cover drive".