Ricky Ponting complains about Cricket Australia's heavy schedule
After the recent "Bangladesh-gate" near disaster, Ricky Ponting has criticised Cricket Australia for scheduling 5 Tests in 5 weeks against South Africa and Bangladesh. Seems to me there's plenty of blame to go around. The schedule was agreed to by the Australian Cricketers Association so you'd have to say the players as well as the officials considered Bangladesh a mere warm-down exercise after the South Africa tour. It was only the very close shave in the 1st Test that woke the Australians up to the poor scheduling. Some like Toby Forage from Fox Sports says Ponting should stop complaining:
"Everybody whinges about having to work every day, but given the choice between hardening my fingertips on a computer keyboard or developing calluses from gripping a cricket bat for a few days in the sun at exotic locations around the world, I'll tell you what I'd prefer. It'd be great to retire before I'm 40, too, cashed up to the eyeballs with only a career in public speaking and TV commentary ahead of me."I disagree (not about it being cool playing cricket for Australia, just his conclusion). It's not as simple a case of cricketers being well paid so they should be grateful for any match play they get. It's a case of managing players so they're fresh and peaking when they represent their country. Exhausting a team in South Africa for several months then shipping them off into subcontinental conditions a day later is bad player management, pure and simple. Cricket Australia big cheese James Sutherland has missed the point too.
"We are very conscious of their workload, but I'm not sure there would be a lot of players outside of that group that would be saying that they're playing too much cricket. That's where the debate gets complex. Can you really tell me Justin Langer is saying there is too much cricket? Is Matthew Hayden saying that now he is out of the one-day team?"That statement is a slap in the face to Australia's champions. He's basically saying any player who wants to play for the one day side as well as the Test side just has to deal with the rigorous scheduling - they've brought it upon themselves. Again, bad player management. The players who get selected for both squads are the cream of the crop. Ricky Ponting, captain and best batsman in the world. Brett Lee, one of the best bowlers in the world. Adam Gilchrist, the wicketkeeper batsman who changed the way the world looks at wicketkeeping. Sutherland is spitting on these champions, telling them to shut up as there's plenty others who'd love to have their position. So what if we grind them into the ground - plenty more where that came from. He should beware - I wouldn't put it past Adam Gilchrist to put in another half-arsed performance if he was ticked off at Cricket Australia's overdone scheduling.
| Posted by JC on Fri 21 Apr |  8 comments |
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