What went wrong with Australia?

What went wrong with Australia?

1. Andrew Symonds exit
I don't think there's an iota of doubt that the best T20 player in the Australian side is Andrew Symonds. CA, in my personal opinion, went a step further by sending him back to Australia. He had a few drinks with his mates outside the cricket team. According to reports from authentic websites, Symonds customized contract barred him from drinking with "outsiders" viz. apart from the Australia team tourney. Either you have him in your team or you don't. There isn't a middle way out which CA must have learnt by now. The most interesting comment on the Symonds' exit came by Dean Jones:
"He just had a beer and supported Queensland's big win over New South Wales ... He left the hotel without telling anyone," Jones told 3AW. "Can you imagine that in the old days with Dennis Lillee or Jeff Thomson having to tell the manager where they were going. It's a security reason for whatever reason. But they're in England aren't they?"


2. Cricket Australia(CA) selection issues
CA needs to seriously consider their selection policy. Lately, certain selections by the CA have left more than a fair share of ex-Australian cricketers completely muddled. Be it their selection for Ashes or for the T20 WC. CA feel that they can get away with part-time spinners to fill in for front-line Test bowlers. If CA needs an example to look at they need to turn their head north-west and look at South Africa. The first time after their return to cricket we see SA having two potent spinners who are front-line bowlers to bowl in a T20/ODI.With the return of Botha and Van Der Merwe proving his worth SA have become a more balanced side now and suddenly look ominous and in my personal opinion are the tournament favorites. They gain a slight edge over India on current form. Their selection for the Ashes also backs the same theory which made Ian Chappel make this comment: "Containers are a blessing in the shipping industry, but not a priority when choosing frontline Test bowlers".
Andrew Hilditch and his team have made more than a few blunders in recent times but continuing the same mistake is not what one expects from a cricket board which in the last two decades have established the adjective "astute" for themselves.

2. Ricky Ponting: The batsman & The Captain
I would repeat a line from a journalist who made a similar comment to John Buchanan, former Australian coach. "Tell me Ricky did you made the team great OR did the team make you a great captain?". Certainly, there isn't much Ponting can do if their his batsmen don't score runs and bowlers don't take wickets but even considering these limitations he hasn't done well enough. The fact that his batting hasn't been upto the mark in T20 has build up some more pressure. Ricky Ponting's last 6 innings scores in T20 Internationals in 2009 read: 21,38,1,1,0,25. He averages 24.21 overall in T20 International's a shadow of himself . As Bryan Coverdale, suggests in his article at Cricinfo, Australia need a major T20 re-think. Taking into consideration Ricky's age and his mindset towards the game, in my personal opinion, I don't see Ricky Ponting being the man who can do so. Micheal Clarke seems much better suited for the role and his recent captaincy stint against Pakistan in the UAE makes a strong case for itself. Ricky Ponting's selection against West Indies too didn't make sense. Given the way Nathan Haurtiz bowled against Sri Lanka it's beyond doubt to suggest he would have been more than a handful against Gayle and company. Gayle especially likes the ball to come to the bat and hence fancies his chances against Lee. Bracken on the other hand troubles him with his cutters. Hauritz with his flight and turn would surely have made up for an exciting contest. Considering, there was no front-line spinner in the Australian team playing Hauritz would've made much more sense. The role of spinners in T20 was evinced by IPL 2009. Ponting had a very good chance to follow the whole season from the comforts of his room. Pity that he couldn't take a cue and continued to back the "floaters" in his side.

As T20 WC 2007 proved, the best teams were the ones with a potent bowling attack. Australia didn't even field their best bowling attack and they have paid the price for it. Recently, CA made a statement that they back Ricky Ponting to lead Australia in all formats of the game till the 2011 WC. It's a pretty bold statement one which I don't agree too. If the situation demands to ease out Ponting, CA should consider T20 as the first place to get their hands dirty.