Relinquishing the Border-Gavaskar Trophy seemed a real possibility for the Australians before the start of play on day four of the final Test in Nagpur. But by tea the bowlers had put Australia in a good position. Following the break, if they could run through the tail cheaply, and there was every indication they could, the Aussie batsmen would have a chance of winning the match and retaining the Trophy.
But with over rates and the threat of suspension weighing on the captain’s mind, the part-timers were brought into the attack and the Indians piled on the runs. Victory is now a near impossibility for the visitors. It has led to an outpouring of ill-feeling from former players and commentators.
Baffling captaincy costs Australia chance of win. In one of the most baffling displays of captaincy seen in the long and proud history of Australian cricket, Ricky Ponting has denied his side a well-deserved chance of securing a famous victory … It is impossible to explain, let alone excuse, the tactics pursued by the Australia think tank. These events occurred directly after an interval. Somehow a group of experienced cricketers and leaders convinced themselves that the over rate was more important than the match. — Peter Roebuck, The Age
Stake through the heart of Test cricket. Ian Chappell once told his captain Bill Lawry “if that’s Test cricket you can stick it up you’re a-se”. I am with Chappell after soporific Saturday saw India strangle the last Test and Australia fail to respond in front of almost no spectators at Nagpur’s new, rural-based stadium. If there was ever a deliberate attempt to drive a stake through the heart of Test cricket and herd more people towards the Twenty20 explosion, this was it. It seems that the bright new boy of Indian cricket, the face on every billboard who has energised and enlivened a nation with his brilliant batting and captaincy in the short forms of the game, is happy to lead Test cricket back into the dark ages. Australia complacently followed. — Malcolm Conn, The Australian
Australia faces stiff task to win series. If Australia lost the plot, it was in the final session. They came out a different team, with Ponting not calling on Shane Watson, who impressed with two wickets after lunch, or Brett Lee. Cameron White’s first over went for 12 and Ponting, worried about a flagging over-rate, turned to Michael Hussey’s innocuous slow medium-pace. It was rather odd, given that Australia needed four wickets. Even stranger was the time Ponting often took to change bowlers and set fields. Whatever the true reason, it only aided India’s cause. — Jamie Alter, Cricinfo
In defence of Ricky Ponting. What administrators and commentators alike need to acknowledge is the game is vastly different to the one that was played 40 years ago, when 80 8-ball overs could be fitted into a day’s cricket. The money in the game puts pressure on captains and players, and so does the media scrutiny. Captains, rightly, now spend more time and mental energy getting bowling changes and field placing just as they want them. Ponting was damned either way in Nagpur yesterday; either damned for saving his own hide, or damned to miss his first test in four years. — blogofpunter
Australia in peril as Ricky Ponting loses grip. Up in the television commentary box, Border, who led Australia in 93 Test matches and laid the foundations of a golden age, was close to losing his cool. “I’m glad Ricky can’t read my mind right now,” he said, “because he’s not going to like it.” — Dileep Premachandran, Times Online
Ponting slammed for baffling captaincy. Ravi Shastri too came out hard at Ponting and said: “One thing Australia always did was put team before individual. In this case the individual would have been the Australian captain, who would have been docked or may have had to miss the Test match at the Gabba (against New Zealand) just in case Australia was behind the over rate. “But in the quest to win the Test match I think the team should have been thought about more than anything else,” said Shastri. — Cricketnext.com
Selfish skipper spin-sells series. Had the Aussies gone in for a kill after tea and restricted India to even 40 runs less they would have had a smaller target and much more time and overs to get there. International captains need to give a serious look at their teams’ bowling rates but this tactic of Ponting is beyond brains. He has not been up to the task of getting overs in time for months now and its been too many times now but he responded today in the way he did only because a one test match suspension hung over him. — Dr Mohit Goyal, IPL Cricket Forum
Ponting’s fears. How one can explain Australia’s tactics in the final session is beyond comprehension … It was unlike Australia and it was no wonder it had the ex-Australians players furious over the hour and half’s play that marked perhaps Australia’s most defensive move yet — only this time it was to save one man, not the pride of the proud sporting nation. Australia were repeatedly behind the fifteen overs per hour mark. Suddenly it dawned upon the Australians that this would not perhaps go down with the match referee and the ICC and could even land skipper Ricky Ponting with a one Test match suspension. In light of that fact, Australia, post tea, forgot to go for the kill and went about trying to save their skipper the ignominy. — Crickblog.com
Doesn’t take long for all the experts to rush in to criticize Ponting once Australia looks like being beaten by a team that looks like it should be number 1 in the Test rankings.
Our fast bowlers haven’t exactly been outstanding in this series. Lee in particular has been disappointing, and Stuart Clark was dropped for the last test. The criticism that I have read relates to the use of “part time ” bowlers because of the ridiculously slow over rates. But have people forgotten so soon, spinner Krejza has just taken 12 wickets in the match at an average of just under 30. And Michael Clarke last tour to India took an amazing 6 for 9 in one test. And Cameron White was picked largely as a spin bowler. So Ponting’s use of “part time” spinners doesn’t seem all that odd.
Also Steve, I wouldn’t call Shameless Hussey a part time spinner either. Maybe a trundler?
Ponting’s captaincy has always been unimaginative and lazy. I doubt he’s smart enough to think about 2 things at once, like over rates and winning.
Dhoni was awful too, which surprised me, since I thought he was inspirng during the 2nd test.
Although aspects of Punter’s captaincy do puzzle me, I thought he did the right thing by the game in trying to complete the required overs in time, as the laws of the game require. I think he’s partially to blame for the slow over rate though. It’s puzzling that the team can’t work out how to keep over rates under control when you consider the size of the on-field and off-field brains trust.
Peter Roebuck was a second rate player in England.
He always has been and always will be nothing more than whinging pom trying to draw attention to himself.
His sporting career produced nothing but division in English cricket and he continues his divisive ways writing for rags in Australia.
I have my suspicions about him being a kiddie toucher after reading his page in Wikipedia.com (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Roebuck).
Ricky, why lower yourself responding to a whimpering, blubbering fool like Roebuck?
What Steve Martin conveniently omits to say is Michael Clarke didnt bowl yesterday so either he also is a part of the mystery clouding Pontings brain or he is unwell. According to ABC commentator Glenn Mitchell, who asked the Australian media Manager if Clarke is not well, the answer was “nothing wrong with him”. So begs the question if he is one of the top spinners in the side why was he not bowled instead of the part timers. It is inexcusable for Ponting to put his own personal standing and circumstances above his team and his country. This is not the first time he has bungled the over rate. frankly there is no excuse. His peers are rightly giving him stick, they know the story and probably know a lot more than us casual observers