England have achieved what they set out to when they boarded their planes from Heathrow. Apart from their rare below par performance in Perth and a road of a pitch in Brisbane, England would have achieved a whitewash down under. The fact that all their three wins were innings victories stands testimony to the yawning gap between the two teams. England have now set their sights on securing the No. 1 ranking, whilst Australia have a bunch of issues to ponder over. It might be of great relief to the Australian selectors that they don’t have to sit down to pick a Test squad at least till late July, a good six months away. However, there are a host of issues that merit their attention. Foremost amongst them is their choice of the man to captain Australia in Test Cricket. The call for Ponting’s head are increasing with each passing day and is dismal form with bat is not helping matters either. The inability to find an alternative for Ponting has been one of the decisive reasons for Ponting having survived thus far. Clarke who was anointed as the one to take over the reins from Ponting has been through a rough patch with the bat and there are concerns over his ability to lead the team at such a crucial juncture. The best alternative that Australia could elect is to take a leaf out of India’s book. When Rahul Dravid decided to put down his papers as the captain of the Indian team, there was none worthwhile to take over the reins; India took the appropriate option of appointing Anil Kumble as a captain and grooming Dhoni as his understudy. The Aussies might consider somebody like Haddin as a stop gap measure while at the same time grooming somebody like Watson or White as someone who can take over the captaincy eventually. The captaincy conundrum though is dependent upon the shape Ponting’s career takes which will be influenced by the outcome of the world cup. If Ponting can match what he has achieved in the previous two versions of the world cup, he might continue at the helm for a good amount of time.
Another major issue that needs to be addressed is their choice of batsman for the No.6 position. Australia have tried three different batsmen- North, Smith and Haddin. North’s form has been heading south for some time now and was duly dropped after the first two tests. Smith is somebody who is still a budding cricketer and his credentials with the bat are not good enough to be trusted with the No.6 position. By playing Smith Australia find themselves both a bowler short as well as a batsman short. Bits and pieces cricketers are never to be trusted in Test matches and by playing Smith Australia have made a blunder. Haddin is a respectable wicket-keeper batsman but by playing him at No.6, Australia are finding themselves a batsman short all the time. The alternatives for an ideal No.6 are people like White, Ferguson, Marsh, and Hodge. All of them have played reasonable amount of international cricket and have been consistent in the domestic contests. It’s high time that Australia rewarded such people.
The next issue that requires diligence is their choice for No.3. All of us are aware of Ponting’s greatness; however, it looks like his age is catching up with him. It would be in right earnest if he considers a move down the order. Khawaja looked good in the solitary test match that he played and it might not be a bad move to give him a good run at No.3. However, it all hinges upon what Ponting decides to do with his career. If he is stubborn about batting only at No.3, then he must be given sufficient chances to get his touch back. After all, he has been one of Australia’s modern day greats and he does deserve a certain amount of reverence.
The choice of spinner is the most arduous issue that the selectors might encounter. There have been numerous tweakers who have turned up for Australia after Warne’s retirement but none have been able to prove their worth. Hauritz has till date looked the best spinner available and bringing him back into the team will be an appropriate decision. Hauritz failed miserably in India; nevertheless, India has never been kind to any overseas spinners including Warne and Murali.
The Australian selectors have to don their thinking caps and it’s high time they take a few brave calls. It’s just not been the Ashes where Australia have been found wanting. They have been on the decline for quite some time now and it’s high time the rut is stopped and Australian cricket is revived. The Juggernaut needs to resuscitated sooner rather than later.
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