Congratulations James Sutherland..

[Blessed]

You destroyed Australian Cricket.

If Tim Lane can see the problems, then why can't you.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/sport/cricket/remembrance-of-things-lost-20111112-1nd3k.html#ixzz1dWtAuULp
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If sporting teams reflect those who oversee their establishment, Clarke's team this week revealed Australian cricket as a shambles. It knows not whether it wants classical or rock'n'roll.


It displays all the philosophical ideals attributed to Don King by Larry Holmes when the former heavyweight champion said of the promoter: "He doesn't care about black or white; he just cares about green."


The game has become a three-ring circus and its highest form is being lost amid the showbiz. The Barnum and Bailey style of the game's promotion has reduced it all to humbug. The frustration of cricket lovers at Australia's performance is, I suspect, not the brooding "we'll get even next time" kind of anger once generated by defeat, rather a confused form of grieving at a larger loss.


Australian cricket is going nowhere till James Sutherland is removed as CEO of Cricket Australia.

Under his watch:-

a) Australia has fallen from being one of the greatest teams of all time to the laughing stock of cricket.

b) the priority has been lost. Is it test cricket or 20/20??

c) As Tim Lane says Making money has become more important than winning.

d) The selection and coaching policies and practices have become a farce.

e) Australian cricket has become unprofessional.

James Sutherland needs to be moved on and a new administrative broom swept through the front office of Cricket Australia.

The new offices in Jolimont were built around a space where the display trophy kept the world test trophy, the one day world cup was kept.

Now the cupboard is bare.

Someone else needs to come in and drive change as the same old same old is still happening despite the Argus report.

 

[dan warna]

I would say the respect for the baggy green has gone down.

I remember watching greg matthews bat, surprisingly his batting average was about 40, the same as mark waughs, and greggles batted against the best of the 80s attacks.

Its a joke to think matthews had anywhere near the talent of junior, but he wore his courage well, I remember the windians giving him an absolute body blasts but he wore them, blow after blow while others surrendered meekly.

His bowling wasn't up to test standard, neither was his batting...on talent.

Australia would be all out 160, Border 70 and matthews 40 and boony 40. Matthews would seem to me to have played every test like his last and every innings like his children would be shot if he failed.

I think some of the dullards in the test side now and over the past 18 months should go back and watch some of the stuff that matthews, boony and border had to deal with when there was no bouncer limit, marshall, garner and co peppering your body with the ball.

I have a crack at SPD Smith, but he has an eye like a dead fish and when he's on song, he can crack the ball, but he has 1/10 of teh brain capacity of Matthews and about the same percentage of courage, for all that matthews is a spud in the media himself.

 

[hbk_aus]

I would put forward the view that Australian cricket supporters have been spoilt the last 15 years by having some of the best players and teams to ever play. And now that we have finally come back to the pack in a natural cycle we can't handle it and are acting like spoilt children who think we have the right to win all the time.

 

[BarneyBent]

I have a crack at SPD Smith, but he has an eye like a dead fish and when he's on song, he can crack the ball, but he has 1/10 of teh brain capacity of Matthews and about the same percentage of courage, for all that matthews is a spud in the media himself.

Argh. I hate taking threads off topic like this, but seriously, this is bullshit. For all Smith's rawness and technical flaws, he does not lack courage or brains. He is a gritty, intelligent batsman that knows how and when to buckle down, and how and when to attack. He has played some massively important knocks for NSW, and he NEVER throws his wicket away in FC cricket.

Shaun Marsh, Callum Ferguson, Cameron White, these guys that average in the 30s/low 40s for FC cricket when they have the talent to average in the 50s (thankfully things seem to have clicked for Marsh), THESE are the guys you should be calling out. Also Haddin, who has taken to throwing his wicket away on a regular basis, and arguably Ponting, who is trying to play like he's still 25. Not a 22 year old who averages 49 in domestic FC cricket, with 5 100s and 4 50s in 19 games, all with a massively raw technique.

Oh, and just for the record, Greg Matthews rates Smith.

 

[Bucking Beads]

I would put forward the view that Australian cricket supporters have been spoilt the last 15 years by having some of the best players and teams to ever play. And now that we have finally come back to the pack in a natural cycle we can't handle it and are acting like spoilt children who think we have the right to win all the time.

I think you are on the money to an extent but there is no doubt the Cricket in the country has been run into the ground.

 

[Adelaide Hawk]

I don't know if I would blame Sutherland for this, the trend had well and truly started before he came along. It has long been my belief that the cavalier approach of the ACB would eventually come along and bite us on the bum.

Take the 2011-12 as an example of what has been going on the past decade or longer. Here it is, cricket season. The AFL season long since finished. Most club competitions are in their 4th or 5th round, the Sheffield Shield has been underway for nearly a month, and where are our International players? That's right, somewhere else in the world, as usual, rather than playing in Australia. Could you imagine the AFL getting underway and having its best players in Ireland for the first month playing International Rules?

Finally, come December, the players are back. In a period of 8 weeks, they squeeze in 6 Test matches, then a month of meaningless ODI matches, a couple of 20/20 games and within the time frame of 3 months, the International cricket season in Australia is over, and players are off to another country.

We have totally neglected the Sheffield Shield completition, the life blood of Australian cricket, for way too long, and are paying the price.

 

[hbk_aus]

Run into the ground? We just lost a test to the 2nd best team in the world on their turf after coming off a good series win. We were never going to be dominant forever. We were never going to keep pounding the Poms forever. Roll with the punches and support your team when they are down, not just when they are on top. I thought that was the Aussie way?

 

[Bourky23]

Roll with the punches and support your team when they are down, not just when they are on top. I thought that was the Aussie way?

Haha christ no!

Hate to say it, but Australian's are the biggest bunch of bandwagoners going around!

 

[damochandler]

Run into the ground? We just lost a test to the 2nd best team in the world on their turf after coming off a good series win. We were never going to be dominant forever. We were never going to keep pounding the Poms forever. Roll with the punches and support your team when they are down, not just when they are on top. I thought that was the Aussie way?

they lost i can cop a loss. but not the way they lost in the first test and in the ashes last year. in the ashes last season they didn't put any pride in the thing they say they die for. the baggy green. they have been nothing short of disgraceful the last 12 months, there was no pride in the coat of arms. the selectors clearly tried to hang onto past glory as well

 

[King Elvis]

I would put forward the view that Australian cricket supporters have been spoilt the last 15 years by having some of the best players and teams to ever play. And now that we have finally come back to the pack in a natural cycle we can't handle it and are acting like spoilt children who think we have the right to win all the time.

I expected us to fall back to the pack.

I didn't expect us to become an embarrassment.

It's all happened under Sutherland; the domestic comp, the national side, all of it, has become a shambles.

Argus Report stated basically every call they have made was a wrong one - where is the responsibility at executive level?

 

[damochandler]

the last 12 motnhs for test team. they have put as much pride in the baggy green as the administration has. very little in other words

 

[dan warna]

Border, Taylor, Gilchrist, S.Waugh, I. Chappel, Greg Chappel were all highly respected.

I think even Kim Hughes had more respect than Clarke.

Punter for some reason didn't get as much respect as I think he deserved as our most successful captain statistically for winning tests, because of the 2 ashes series he lost. I think in part the team selected gimped him a fair bit.

I think in time punter will get the credit he deserves.