Talk about a tough ride
November 14, 2008
The vehement reaction to the Aussies' 2 nil loss to India and Ricky Ponting's captaincy has once again emphasized to me what a cushy ride our Black Caps enjoy.
I cannot think of a more demanding and accountable job in sport than that of captain of the Australian cricket side.
Far more than is the case here, an Aussie captain appears to take most of the responsibility for his team's fortunes.
Expectation is immense. Accountability is paramount. Success is demanded. Failure can be fatal. All of which was starkly demonstrated during the Baggy Greens' tour of and eventual demise in India.
There is no tougher task in international cricket than winning on the sub-continent. Alien conditions, illness and on this occasion, as good as Indian squad as ever was always going to make for one very demanding foray.
Add to that the fact that for most of the series, the Aussies spinning armory was ordinary at best, underlining what a colossus Shane Warne has been in Australia's relentless successes while he spun his magic.
Plus the recent retirements of the heavyweights such as Glenn McGrath, Adam Gilchrist and Justin Langer is also still being felt.
This all translated into the likelihood of the Aussies winning the test series in India nigh on impossible, drawing it a possibility and losing the most likely outcome.
And lose they did.
A result mostly in keeping with the Indians' marked supremacy throughout the series and a second test defeat enhanced by Ponting's odd endeavors to rectify an incriminating slow over rate.
This was Ponting's first series loss since the Poms dealt to his team in 2005.
The bald facts spearheading the career of Ricky Ponting are these:
He is Australia's most successful test captain ever.
His zeal for winning is synonymous with his ruthless sense of pride and patriotism.
On a personal note, Ponting is one of only seven players who have amassed over 10,000 runs.
He has the best average of the top twenty test run scorers of all time and only Sachin Tendulkar is pipping him for the most test centuries ever posted.
But if like me, you thought this wondrous overall record would insulate Ponting from the stinging criticism showered upon him after losing in Nagpur, how wrong we were.
As was the case in the bitter series against India in Australia earlier this year (and probably more deserving), many eminent ex-players and coaches have been calling Ponting's authority and judgment into question.
To his relief, other notables such as Steve Waugh and Aussie cricket chief, James Sutherland have been stoic in their defense of the little Tasmanian master.
Regardless of the relative fairness of the opposing opinions, once again, accountability has been at the forefront of the debate. And that in itself is a particularly healthy exercise I believe.
As mentioned, compare that to the truly pathetic lack of genuine accountability at national level here in Godzone.
Compare that to the destructive nonsense of allowing John Bracewell to see out the whole of his contract and not leaving until April 2009, a year or so after he announced he wanted to vacate the role.
How sad! How soft! How silly!
First, Martin Snedden and now Justin Vaughan have put mateship ahead of the good of the Black Caps and their long-suffering fans while Bracewell has kept New Zealand at a dismal seventh out of nine in the ICC test rankings for most of his time at the helm.
The pursuit of mediocrity and non-accountability is alive and well at New Zealand Cricket's headquarters.
Your thoughts please.
PS. I always knew Keven Mealamu was a Samoan. A typing mistake let me down. Apologies for the glitch and thanks to my biggest fans for pointing it out!
I cannot think of a more demanding and accountable job in sport than that of captain of the Australian cricket side.
Far more than is the case here, an Aussie captain appears to take most of the responsibility for his team's fortunes.
Expectation is immense. Accountability is paramount. Success is demanded. Failure can be fatal. All of which was starkly demonstrated during the Baggy Greens' tour of and eventual demise in India.
There is no tougher task in international cricket than winning on the sub-continent. Alien conditions, illness and on this occasion, as good as Indian squad as ever was always going to make for one very demanding foray.
Add to that the fact that for most of the series, the Aussies spinning armory was ordinary at best, underlining what a colossus Shane Warne has been in Australia's relentless successes while he spun his magic.
Plus the recent retirements of the heavyweights such as Glenn McGrath, Adam Gilchrist and Justin Langer is also still being felt.
This all translated into the likelihood of the Aussies winning the test series in India nigh on impossible, drawing it a possibility and losing the most likely outcome.
And lose they did.
A result mostly in keeping with the Indians' marked supremacy throughout the series and a second test defeat enhanced by Ponting's odd endeavors to rectify an incriminating slow over rate.
This was Ponting's first series loss since the Poms dealt to his team in 2005.
The bald facts spearheading the career of Ricky Ponting are these:
He is Australia's most successful test captain ever.
His zeal for winning is synonymous with his ruthless sense of pride and patriotism.
On a personal note, Ponting is one of only seven players who have amassed over 10,000 runs.
He has the best average of the top twenty test run scorers of all time and only Sachin Tendulkar is pipping him for the most test centuries ever posted.
But if like me, you thought this wondrous overall record would insulate Ponting from the stinging criticism showered upon him after losing in Nagpur, how wrong we were.
As was the case in the bitter series against India in Australia earlier this year (and probably more deserving), many eminent ex-players and coaches have been calling Ponting's authority and judgment into question.
To his relief, other notables such as Steve Waugh and Aussie cricket chief, James Sutherland have been stoic in their defense of the little Tasmanian master.
Regardless of the relative fairness of the opposing opinions, once again, accountability has been at the forefront of the debate. And that in itself is a particularly healthy exercise I believe.
As mentioned, compare that to the truly pathetic lack of genuine accountability at national level here in Godzone.
Compare that to the destructive nonsense of allowing John Bracewell to see out the whole of his contract and not leaving until April 2009, a year or so after he announced he wanted to vacate the role.
How sad! How soft! How silly!
First, Martin Snedden and now Justin Vaughan have put mateship ahead of the good of the Black Caps and their long-suffering fans while Bracewell has kept New Zealand at a dismal seventh out of nine in the ICC test rankings for most of his time at the helm.
The pursuit of mediocrity and non-accountability is alive and well at New Zealand Cricket's headquarters.
Your thoughts please.
PS. I always knew Keven Mealamu was a Samoan. A typing mistake let me down. Apologies for the glitch and thanks to my biggest fans for pointing it out!
The measure of Pontings captaincy will now be based on how well he does without "Warney" & "Pidge". Good luck to him, captaincy for him will not be as easy as the free ride he has had up till now.
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