Why all the anger?

[d_henderson1810]

Today, I listened to SEN, after watching a great day of Test cricket yesterday. I thought that people would be flowing in their praise of Siddle's hat-trick, Doherty getting two wickets on debut, keeping England to a low score, and that Australia, who many predicted wouldn't do much, played much better than expected on the first day of the Ashes.

Yet, I hear criticism of Ricky Ponting allowing 30 runs to get past, because he didn't tighten his field. Darren Berry said this, and stated that an Australian captain shouldn't do that. Can Berry speak from experience then? Remind me of how many games Berry captained for Australia? That's right-none! So how would he know, if he was in Ponting's position?

Mitchell Clark seemed to cop criticism too.

What is it with cricket fans and the media these days? Have Aust. cricket fans been so spoiled for success, that we can't take ANY positives out of a game anymore? It seems to have become a sport to knock the cricketers, bag Ponting's captaincy, and argue about who shouldn't be in the Aust side, so that players from YOUR state can be put in instead, whether they have earned it or not.

I never heard much criticism of Allan Border's captaincy. I never heard anyone criticise Warne or McGrath, even when they had a bag day, and Australia lost.

Don't you get it? Australia is struggling, and doesn't have the players they once had. The Aussies had almost three decades of dominance, and it has to end eventually. Just look at the West Indies. Most dominant team on earth in the late 80's-early 90's, and now they are a rabble. Australia is nowhere near that bad.

I follow Geelong, and have accepted that, because of big changes to our team, we may not dominate like we once did. However, it is a transition period for the Cats, and time is needed to build the nucleus of a new, winnign side, and get new players in. This is how it is with the Australian cricket team as well. Patience is needed.

I would like Australian cricket fans to lay off the players a bit. They are trying their hardest. You stand out there in the heat, and try to catch a hard ball being hit near, or the intense concentration needed to bat for hours on end. I imagine that it ain't easy.

I have also never seen a sport where so many past players bag the current team. Bitter has-beens like Jeff Thompson, Darren Berry and Rodney Hogg, spew their venom against our young side and show the captain no support.

Just focus on the positive. I fear to think, if we win the Ashes, what negative things the media will address, to downplay it.

 

[Bucking Beads]

Do you mean Michael Clarke?? LOL. I think we have been spoilt for the last 20 years... Poor selections don't help the public wants to see Cricket Australia developing a team that can be number 1 again, at the moment that is not happening.

 

[Illinois Nazi]

Media commentators such as those you mentioned are basically professional trolls - if they're not getting people fired up by making outlandish comments then they're not doing their job.

 

[Goldencats]

Don't get me wrong, I understand we were blessed with Warne and McGrath, but my anger is mainly vented towards the selectors, and their constant shying away from playing young players over guys who clearly don't deserve to be in the team, like North, I'm just really disappointed we didn't blood some youngsters during last summer and thus give them a chance to cement their spot in an ashes side

 

[Plugger35]

The criticism of Mitchell Clark is warranted.

Batted terribly today and should never have played with his bad back clearly troubling him. Not only that but his bowling was awful yesterday, sprayed the ball everywhere and never looked like taking a wicket.

Time we brought in Dougie Khawaja to replace him.

 

[amer]

I think it's important to keep standards up there even as high calibre players move into the sunset. As far as being overwhelmingly negative goes, most of it is residual frustration with the way the board's selection policy has regressed to stagnation this past couple of years I'd think. Sort the major bugbear and the peripheral noise will ease.

 

[crownie]

wonder if anyone saw the bowling Mitchell Clarke faced at the time he was in, he if was fit and in form he probaly would of knicked one early and made a duck anyway.

lets see how he does in the second dig before casting arrows in his direction.

 

[ManWithNoName]

I've had it in for Mitchell Clark for years. Never turns up, constantly goes missing, and when we need someone to make some runs, he's nowhere to be seen.

 

[The Casey Cat]

The anger from me is because after another decent effort with the ball from our relatively inexperienced bowling attack our batsmen have once again performed like a bunch of overrated, overpaid pathetic ****wits. The usual solid without being brilliant opening. The usual Ponting dismissal where he gets himself out (or runs himself out) in some stupid fashion for stuff all. Another fairly soft and stupid dismissal from Katich to get himself out when he was set. Clarke then hangs around and accomplishes nothing before a soft/hopeless dismissal and then the Marcus North disappearing act. Seriously can we ever be anything better than 5 for 250 these days? FFS we could barely get to 150 yesterday before 5 wickets had fallen. ****en sick of it!!!

 

[Tyberious Funk]

I never heard much criticism of Allan Border's captaincy.

Border was frequently criticised, particularly early in his career. A number of prominent former cricketers weren't happy with his captaincy, and at one stage there was a push to have him replaced. IIRC, Dirk Wellham was being touted as his potential replacement despite the fact that he struggled to make the test team.

IMHO, Ponting is being criticsed because he simply isn't as good a captain as Waugh or Taylor. It's a pretty tough yardstick to measure against, but that's just the way it is. And he hasn't exactly covered himself with glory with his batting lately.

 

[peternorth]

Today, I listened to SEN, after watching a great day of Test cricket yesterday. I thought that people would be flowing in their praise of Siddle's hat-trick, Doherty getting two wickets on debut, keeping England to a low score, and that Australia, who many predicted wouldn't do much, played much better than expected on the first day of the Ashes.

Yet, I hear criticism of Ricky Ponting allowing 30 runs to get past, because he didn't tighten his field. Darren Berry said this, and stated that an Australian captain shouldn't do that. Can Berry speak from experience then? Remind me of how many games Berry captained for Australia? That's right-none! So how would he know, if he was in Ponting's position?

Mitchell Clark seemed to cop criticism too.

actually i think the aussies score is pretty good at the moment. for a one dayer. wait...


srsly, mitchell clarke was rubbish and deserved criticism. he's clearly not fit. yes its the ashes but he shouldve sat the test out. selfish. his bowling was also tripe. sprays it everywhere!!!!

 

[Adelaide Hawk]

my anger is mainly vented towards the selectors, and their constant shying away from playing young players over guys who clearly don't deserve to be in the team, like North

And I'm willing to be bet before yesterday you added "and Hussey" to that comment.

 

[Adelaide Hawk]

actually i think the aussies score is pretty good at the moment. for a one dayer. wait...


srsly, mitchell clarke was rubbish and deserved criticism. he's clearly not fit. yes its the ashes but he shouldve sat the test out. selfish. his bowling was also tripe. sprays it everywhere!!!!

Mitchell Clarke?

 

[Goldencats]

And I'm willing to be bet before yesterday you added "and Hussey" to that comment.

didn't actually think to put his name, but one innings doesn't make a summer

 

[DaRick]

IMHO, Ponting is being criticsed because he simply isn't as good a captain as Waugh or Taylor. It's a pretty tough yardstick to measure against, but that's just the way it is. And he hasn't exactly covered himself with glory with his batting lately.

This is debatable. Waugh was a ruthless captain, but he was always resource-rich and not a particularly good tactician when his team was under real pressure.

 

[obscura]

Mitchell Clark, comparable to Trent Dennis-Jones in that respect.

 

[ManWithNoName]

Mitchell Clarke reminds me of Mick Waugh. No name invisible man.

 

[d_henderson1810]

But this is my point. Instead of reflecting on positives of what the Aussies have achieved in this Test thus far, all the comments have been negative.

What about a bit of balance?

Also, cricket is the only sport where past greats criticise today's players. In AFL, most past greats (unless they are in the media) come out and criticise today's players, and say that they weren't as good as them. In tennis, Pete Sampras doesn't criticise Roger Federer, and play down his accomplishments, but instead was happy that it was Federer who beat his record, and presented the U.S. Open title to him. Navratalova, I remember, presenting women players, with trophies.

Cricket stands out as where more past Legends hate on today's players than ever before. Why doesn't that bitter, washed-up, prune, Jeff Thompson, crwal back in the hole he came out of? He stopped being relevant the second he stopped playing.


Also, credit is NEVER given to the opposition. Why can't it be that we were beaten by a better side at the time. The next test, you may get your win back. You can't win them all. As a Geelong supporter, who has seen their team hardly lose in the last four years, when they do, we don't blame the captain or the coach. Losses sometimes happen, just as long as you don't have too many of them. No-one is invincible, not even the Australian cricket team.

 

[Tyberious Funk]

This is debatable. Waugh was a ruthless captain, but he was always resource-rich and not a particularly good tactician when his team was under real pressure.

Waugh wasn't tactically great, I'll grant you that. But he was mentally tougher than just about anyone who has played the game, and a good motivator. He managed to keep the team laser focused, which is important. It's true he had a good team under his command, but he took them from being damn good to being unquestionably the best.

IMHO, he was the right man for the job at the time. Just like Border was the right man to lead the team during the 80s and early 90s.

Ponting... just seems almost lost by comparison.

 

[peternorth]

mitchell clark(e) a grand total of 9 runs.

 

[d_henderson1810]

Here's a positive for you:-

Mike Hussey's performance.

Hussey has performed with the bat, and kept us from being beaten by more, yet all I hear is who hasn't performed, not who has.

I think that cricket critics fit into two catergories:- the has-beens, and the never-weres.

 

[d_henderson1810]

Mitchell Clarke?

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Yes. Mitchell Clarke deserves flak, just like Michael Johnson....oops!

 

[potatomasher]

Waugh wasn't tactically great, I'll grant you that. But he was mentally tougher than just about anyone who has played the game, and a good motivator. He managed to keep the team laser focused, which is important. It's true he had a good team under his command, but he took them from being damn good to being unquestionably the best.

IMHO, he was the right man for the job at the time. Just like Border was the right man to lead the team during the 80s and early 90s.

Ponting... just seems almost lost by comparison.

The times Australia didn't perform, Waugh tended to be lost tactically, especially considering the bowling options he had available to him. But I see what you're saying. When you have a team full of superstars, having a gung ho attack-at-all-costs captain is probably alright.

Right now though, I'm glad Ponting is making the decisions rather than Waugh. Had Ponting taken a leaf out of Waugh's book, he would've declared earlier to force a result, put about 40 slips in place, and been spanked all over the place anyway because an aggressive mindset doesn't fix a useless bowling lineup. England could've had enough time to put a lot more pressure on in this case. At least Ponting can be defensive-minded and make sure that we don't lose before forcing a win. All hypothetical obviously.

 

[potatomasher]

Here's a positive for you:-

Mike Hussey's performance.

Hussey has performed with the bat, and kept us from being beaten by more, yet all I hear is who hasn't performed, not who has.

I think that cricket critics fit into two catergories:- the has-beens, and the never-weres.

So you've sorted a group of people into two categories, the ones who were good and the ones who were not good? You must be so proud you could burst right now.