4 axed for 3rd test

[Fat Nyfe]

There's a rather interesting interview with Mike Hussey on Cricinfo. Responding to questions about the coaches he played under and following effusive praise of Buchanan and Nielsen he has this to say about Arthur:

"Arthur then came in as coach during all the changes being wrought by the Argus review.I'd had a little bit to do with Mickey when he coached Western Australia, so I knew him a little better than the other guys in the Australian team. It was a really hard time to be around the Australian team. We had new everything - selectors, coach, administration, captain, new players coming into the team. In a way, everyone became a little bit insular and just tried to make sure they were doing their own thing and worrying about their own backyard. I'm sure as things bed down more and people get more confident about their roles, hopefully the trust and the culture can grow from there. I think the team has performed particularly well, considering there's been so much change."

Noticed that too, I think as the sort of person Huss is he says a lot when he doesn't say much and that was pretty contrasting to his reviews of Buchanan and Nielson.

It's fair enough too when he mentioned not announcing his retirement earlier for fear of being dropped; given he was dropped from the ODI squad just days later for those very reasons.

 

[Wicked Lester]

Noticed that too, I think as the sort of person Huss is he says a lot when he doesn't say much and that was pretty contrasting to his reviews of Buchanan and Nielson.

Yes, Huss strikes me as one who'd never rock the boat or undermine the Australian cricket team, not intentionally anyway. So I read his comments with interest looking for the things he didn't say or said with less enthusiasm than others. It's a good read.

 

[believe_it]

What are the goals of the Australian cricket team? I think there are only two that stand out. To win tests and to win series. One tends to ensure the other. So given the state of the series in India with the host 2:0 up with still 2 to play, what circumstances have to arise for it to be deemed necessary for those in charge to effectively surrender the series?

Whilst the attitudes of some players have been called into question by the team management , it is that very management that seems unstable, lacking direction , and losing its head in a crisis. The only thing that should lead to somebody being dropped is poor form or gross misconduct. This should be considered on individual basis alone.

I am not even sure who made the decision to drop the players - Clarke , Arthur , Howard ? . There needs to be one person heard from and calling the shots on a tour and that's the captain.

You find out about somebodies true leadership ability in the tough times. You need to be even tempered and have controlled emotions to make good decisions whilst under pressure. Without this control , rash decisions can be made
that can cause harmful outcomes rather than positive ones. So what are harmful and positive outcomes in the context of the Australian cricket team ? Well that depends on what the goals are.

 

[King Elvis]

Hey, Kingy, now that Hussey has basically admitted to being selfish and looking out for himself, will you be as super critical of him as you are of Clarke 'putting himself above the team'? I sure hope so considering that your argument for Clarke putting himself above the team is flimsy as all hell...but Hussey on the other hand...

http://www.espncricinfo.com/australia/content/current/story/624898.html

You're kidding, right?

 

[Cooldude]

My favourite part was Pat Howard, at that presser; "There have been other minor indiscretions which have resulted in this."

Journo, "What were the other indiscretions?"

Howard, "Do you want me to list them, do you?"

Journo, "Yea... That's exactly what we'd like..."

Howard, "Well, I'm not going to."

This Pat Howard must be a gigantic knobhead

 

[Father Jack]

Hey, Kingy, now that Hussey has basically admitted to being selfish and looking out for himself, will you be as super critical of him as you are of Clarke 'putting himself above the team'? I sure hope so considering that your argument for Clarke putting himself above the team is flimsy as all hell...but Hussey on the other hand...

http://www.espncricinfo.com/australia/content/current/story/624898.html

It goes to show the current culture of the team when someone like Hussey was worried about being stabbed in the back.

 

[western royboy]

It goes to show the current culture of the team when someone like Hussey was worried about being stabbed in the back.

BINGO

 

[Tyberious Funk]

Read my post properly. I am pointing out this is how things have been perceived - correctly or incorrectly -by a not insignificant number of people.

The rest of your post seems to effectively repeat the points I was making. Its been a PR debacle and Pat Howard's intervention made things a lot worse.

Sorry, I wasn't having a dig at you... just the idiots that seem to think the whole affair is Clarke's fault. Even if Clarke was the one to instigate the punishment, at the very least he would have needed to support of Arthur, the three other selectors and probably Pat Howard. The tour manager and James Sutherland were probably also consulted too. That's quite a lot of people on the inside... people with the actual facts... who seem to be in agreement that the punishment was suitable. As opposed to many of the keyboard warriors here.

That said, the hate for Clarke is seriously strong... I mean, it still astonishes me that people take Katich's "side" in his dustup with Clarke.

 

[Tyberious Funk]

It goes to show the current culture of the team when someone like Hussey was worried about being stabbed in the back.

He wasn't worried about being stabbed in the back. He was worried that if he announced his retirement, he would be dropped in favour of a blooding a new player into the team. Quite rightly, too. I'm as big a fan of Hussey as anyone. But had it been know he was going to retire before the Ashes, I would have liked to use the opportunity to put some games into someone else. That's not stabbing someone in the back... it's prudent planning.

 

[King Elvis]

It goes to show the current culture of the team when someone like Hussey was worried about being stabbed in the back.

The worst part is, he was right.


Agree re the method as well - Clarke should've been the only one fronting the media and discussing it with the media; Howard has done nothing but come across as a bellend and cause more problems; Arthur shouldn't be either seen or heard.

 

[Wicked Lester]

Even if Clarke was the one to instigate the punishment, at the very least he would have needed to support of Arthur, the three other selectors and probably Pat Howard.

The five selectors picked the squad. On this tour three selectors (Clarke and Arthur in consultation with Inverarity) pick the team from the squad.

Arthur and Clarke have confirmed the two of them plus the tour manager determined the suspensions. I don't know if they had to get prior clearance from Cricket Australia before announcing the measure.

I've no idea what role Pat Howard played in it, though I suspect he'll be well and truly muzzled from now on.

 

[King Elvis]

In a career-spanning interview, Hussey also spoke about the time he felt his career came closest to an early end, before the 2010-11 Ashes series in which he was to be Australia's leading scorer. Compelled to play in the Champions League for Chennai Super Kings, Hussey was left with only two days to prepare for a Test match against India in Chandigarh, and actively fought Cricket Australia's decision to keep him in South Africa.
"I was really disappointed, because I was desperate to get there," he said. "My understanding was that the Test tour starts when the team flies out of Australia, and they weren't allowing me to leave South Africa where the Champions League was, until literally a couple of days before the Test.

Intredasting.

 

[Doodlesweaver]

He wasn't worried about being stabbed in the back. He was worried that if he announced his retirement, he would be dropped in favour of a blooding a new player into the team. Quite rightly, too. I'm as big a fan of Hussey as anyone. But had it been know he was going to retire before the Ashes, I would have liked to use the opportunity to put some games into someone else. That's not stabbing someone in the back... it's prudent planning.

I don't think giving anyone else three games against Sri Lanka would have made the slightest bit of difference to how they went in India or the Ashes. Considering how everybody else apart from Clarke has been travelling. All they might have done is not dropped Punter if they'd known about Huss' retiring and dropped Huss instead.

 

[The Speaker]

what does pat howard really do

http://www.espncricinfo.com/blogs/content/story/622651.html

 

[Plugger35]

There's a rather interesting interview with Mike Hussey on Cricinfo. Responding to questions about the coaches he played under and following effusive praise of Buchanan and Nielsen he has this to say about Arthur:

"Arthur then came in as coach during all the changes being wrought by the Argus review.I'd had a little bit to do with Mickey when he coached Western Australia, so I knew him a little better than the other guys in the Australian team. It was a really hard time to be around the Australian team. We had new everything - selectors, coach, administration, captain, new players coming into the team. In a way, everyone became a little bit insular and just tried to make sure they were doing their own thing and worrying about their own backyard. I'm sure as things bed down more and people get more confident about their roles, hopefully the trust and the culture can grow from there. I think the team has performed particularly well, considering there's been so much change."

I don't see how that is criticism of Arthur just because Hussey didn't heap praise on him like Buchanan and Nielsen.

The Australian cricket team turned into a complete shambles under Nielsen culminating in an embarrassing thrashing from England in the 2010/11 Ashes series whilst Buchanan was lucky to have one of the best test teams at his disposal and wasn't popular with some players like Warne and Mark Waugh.

Just because Hussey thinks Buchanan and Nielsen are good blokes doesn't make them better coaches than Arthur. Arthur seems to be an easy escape goat because he isn't Australian.

 

[Phone]

He wasn't worried about being stabbed in the back. He was worried that if he announced his retirement, he would be dropped in favour of a blooding a new player into the team. Quite rightly, too. I'm as big a fan of Hussey as anyone. But had it been know he was going to retire before the Ashes, I would have liked to use the opportunity to put some games into someone else. That's not stabbing someone in the back... it's prudent planning.

yeah this. if hussey says he's gonna quit pre-summer starting, and goes on to make 10 runs in 3 games against SA (ala Ponting), there's no way Aus can keep him on. Hussey was selfish, as he says, but in an understandable way, as would have been Aus dropping him if the above happened. As it turns out, he started on fire, so he probably could have announced it pre-WACA test (uh, but then Ponting did quit).

 

[damochandler]

http://www.espncricinfo.com/blogs/content/story/622651.html

so he's picked the staff that are doing a shit job.

 

[Ill Chicken]

Hey, Kingy, now that Hussey has basically admitted to being selfish and looking out for himself, will you be as super critical of him as you are of Clarke 'putting himself above the team'? I sure hope so considering that your argument for Clarke putting himself above the team is flimsy as all hell...but Hussey on the other hand...

http://www.espncricinfo.com/australia/content/current/story/624898.html

Technically retiring is selfish, regardless of when you do it.

 

[Ill Chicken]

What are the goals of the Australian cricket team? I think there are only two that stand out. To win tests and to win series. One tends to ensure the other. So given the state of the series in India with the host 2:0 up with still 2 to play, what circumstances have to arise for it to be deemed necessary for those in charge to effectively surrender the series?

Well considering they did it in a series they could still win against South Africa at Perth, it shouldn't be that surprising really.

 

[sherb]

BINGO

Or, a more reasoned view:

He wasn't worried about being stabbed in the back. He was worried that if he announced his retirement, he would be dropped in favour of a blooding a new player into the team. Quite rightly, too. I'm as big a fan of Hussey as anyone. But had it been know he was going to retire before the Ashes, I would have liked to use the opportunity to put some games into someone else. That's not stabbing someone in the back... it's prudent planning.

Bingo indeed.

 

[sherb]

The disciplinary action has reaped immediate rewards.

The side has turned things around so much that today's first day of the third test was the most even of the series.

 

[placebo]

You're kidding, right?

I don't know why I bothered to be honest Kingy. I already know your irrational dislike for Clarke dominates your viewing of every situation. Of course Clarke puts himself in front of the team in your eyes, hell, you don't even need strong reasoning to believe it. But those standards don't apply to others for you. That's fine, I just wish you'd admit your criticisms are fairly baseless and you just irrationally dislike the fellow.

It goes to show the current culture of the team when someone like Hussey was worried about being stabbed in the back.

...stabbed in...the back? Right.

 

[Father Jack]

He wasn't worried about being stabbed in the back. He was worried that if he announced his retirement, he would be dropped in favour of a blooding a new player into the team. Quite rightly, too. I'm as big a fan of Hussey as anyone. But had it been know he was going to retire before the Ashes, I would have liked to use the opportunity to put some games into someone else. That's not stabbing someone in the back... it's prudent planning.

If Mike Hussey lets them know a couple of tests out what his plans are and then they drop him immediately, that's being stabbed in the back. But, as he said, he wanted to be certain of his plans before he made any announcement. Any way you wish to cut it, Hussey had the form and the standing in the game to go out on his own terms.

 

[catman 71]

the bit where you grossly and unnecessarily demeaned honest, though low-paid work, whereas most adults with an IQ above 75 know better than that:

- models are highly paid but that doesn't mean they add much to society
- lawyers are highly paid but that doesn't mean they have friends
- drug dealers are highly paid but...

etc etc

(also, if you finish your posts with 'loser' then people will know/assume you have limited life experience)

Being a model, a lawyer,or even a cricketer are also honest livings. None of them are breaking the law, and have a right to make money by doing what they do best. The drug-dealer is a different story.

But, I don't understand why you mention how much money they are paid. Why does it matter? Would it be okay for these cricketers to act up if they were amateurs? Either their behaviour is right or wrong, and what they get paid has nothing to do with it.

I have never got the hangup people have with sportspeople's wages. Playing sport is legal, and it isn't taxpayers' money they are recieving (except Olympians). If a club or sponsors are prepared to pay a player a certain amount, no matter how obscene, how is that the sportsperson's fault? If you don't want sportspeople to get paid too much, then don't go to games and pay admission. If someone pays to see a performance and gets one, then they can't complain. And if you don't pay and don't go to see someone perform, you can't complain either. You chose to pay.

If people are idiot enough to overpay you, you smile and take it. Don't tell me that if your boss starting paying you more, for no increase in your productivity, you wouldn't gladly accept it. I smell hypocrisy!

But, oh, I forgot, you are an honest, but low-paid worker. I forgot that you are better than sportspeople, models, lawyers and everyone else. How dare we not all recognize your greatness sooner. I mean, the warehouse workers are the true heroes of society, and the country would shut down tomorrow if you didn't do your job.

 

[Father Jack]

...stabbed in...the back? Right.

That's what he was worried about, and rightly so, as he was dropped for the ODI's. So yes, Right.