you want arrogance
this from Bucky
http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,21266420-23212,00.html
Losing was just 'fine-tuning'
By Peter Lalor and Malcolm Conn
February 22, 2007
ONE day you are on top of the world and the greatest Test team in living memory. A one-day tournament or two later and you are setting records for incompetence.
Australia's incontinent bowling attack, brittle-boned senior players and scattered selectors are physically and psychologically traumatised after two series losses and some are predicting more to come.
The team has eight days to get its act together before the plane leaves for the World Cup defence in the Caribbean.
The team returned home yesterday after losing its first limited-overs series against New Zealand for 33 years, a humiliation that came hot on the heels of losing the triangular home series 2-0 to England.
Australia coach John Buchanan insists the sky is not falling in and that the focus of the past two series has been about fine-tuning plans for the World Cup.
"The last few games have shown us where the holes in the balloon might be and that's an upside in terms of us going to the World Cup. I'm sure all of us would rather know now, rather than find them out when we got there," Buchanan said.
Glenn McGrath, who did not manage a wicket in the two matches he played against New Zealand, counselled patience and seemed confident yesterday.
"It wasn't the best tour for us over there in New Zealand, but we would rather get that out of the way now a few weeks before the first (World Cup) game so we can work out what we need to do differently and turn it around," McGrath said.
Acting captain Michael Hussey arrived home looking like he had just had three years in charge of the Iraq offensive, not three days in charge of a misfiring limited-overs team.
"I could use a good week off now, definitely," Hussey said.
Former coaches and players say the side has lost its way.
Len Pascoe, a fast bowler of the 1970s, said the main blame lay with selectors and added the coaches and Cricket Australia's scheduling had worn out the players.
"From what I see they'll be lucky to win a game at the World Cup because the selectors haven't been able to get it right and have chopped and changed all summer," Pascoe said.
"The selectors need to stand up and explain what they are doing to the players."
Former Australia captain and coach Bob Simpson said the bowlers had lost the plot.
"It's a matter of getting some smarter team plans," Simpson said. "We've gone away from the simple philosophies of the game and made it too complicated."
Simpson said the World Cup could be won, but like his team that won it in 1987 Australia needed to concentrate on bowling out the opposition.
Geoff Lawson said bowling coach Troy Cooley should have been on the tour of New Zealand.
"They were always going to be high-scoring games in the conditions. But as far as bowling plans go, if they could have made some better tactical decisions they would have won by 10 or 20 runs. That's all they needed to do," Lawson said.
"It would have been nice to have the bowling coach on tour with them so they could talk these things through.
"We just didn't bowl meticulously enough. There was not enough focus on each delivery when it went down and where it had to go, otherwise we would have defended both those scores (336 and 346) with just a little more concentration."
Lawson questioned the decision-making of the Australia attack, which will be the same one charged with bowling Australia to a historic third successive World Cup should Brett Lee's damaged ankle not repair in time.
"As a bowler, you've got 60 balls to bowl and every one deserves your utmost attention. I just didn't think that was happening," Lawson said.
"There were lots of bouncers and slower balls but not enough yorkers. You bowl four more yorkers in the second game and three more in the third game and you win both games. It's that simple."
Lawson was critical of Australia's bowlers for failing to change their angles more regularly in the hope of grabbing a wicket or slowing the frantic run rate.
"There wasn't enough thought about when to go around the wicket," he said.
"Mitchell Johnson didn't go around the wicket until his last couple of overs, when he was told to by Nathan Bracken.
"There are little bits and pieces like that. It's more a strategy thing. You've got to know what you're going to do when you run in to bowl.
"Whether because we had big totals on the board and the bowlers relaxed I don't know, but you just can't afford to do that.
"It may be a lesson to the more inexperienced guys like Johnson and (Shaun) Tait and (Shane) Watson."
Lawson was encouraged by Watson's improvement during the tournament after the all-rounder missed almost the entire international summer because of hamstring problems.
"He bowled a bit better in the last game," Lawson said.
"He was a bit rusty early on but he looked a bit better with some work under his belt, which was good."
Lawson claimed that if there was a positive to Australia conceding 686 runs in its past two matches, it was the harsh lessons of bowling in conditions similar to those Australia will face during the World Cup in the West Indies with small, fast grounds and flat pitches.
"Hopefully this is very valuable experience," Lawson said.
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