Ricky Ponting: worst Australian captain: EVER!

[Gene Krupa]

Discuss.

 

[HevyDevy]

No discussion needed.

We've gone from the mentoring of Border, the brilliance of Taylor and the ruthlessness of Waugh to the incompetence of Ponting.

 

[Mong]

Meh. They have had a few bad days. Being a bit harsh to label him worst ever..

 

[HevyDevy]

They've had a few bad years Mong - not helped by their bizarre selection policy.

 

[Mong]

Lost the ashes, won them back in style, lost some fine players..

Still think you are being a tad harsh on him. He's definately not in the same class as the three you mentioned previously though.

 

[TheFrog]

If you change "ever" to "of the last 20 years" I think you are not too wide of the mark. But worse than Kim Hughes, Graham Yallop, or Greg Chappell, I don't think so.

Those who criticize Ponting very rarely indicate who should be captain instead. Now that he's as safe as houses in the team, I'd have Katich ahead of Clarke.

 

[simmo1]

The thing is though, there really isn't a standout replacement in the team who should be the captain. Blokes like Clarke and Hussey would do a decent job, but I'd say they would be roughly the same as Ponting.

However, when Warne was in the team, he should definitely have been captain.

 

[wittyfan]

Kim Hughes was the worst imho.

 

[mightybears]

Kim Hughes was the worst imho.

kim hughes had a lot less to work with, and a lot less support within the team and administration.

 

[African Monkey]

So is it my turn to make another thread like this next month ?

 

[hineyrulz]

Kim Hughes had a far weaker team and had 10 test's in a row against argubly the greatest team of all time. They broke him like they did to most captains. And Yallop had to play a strong Pommy side with a team of 2nd stringers and youngsters. Not sure what he was expected to do.

Ponting has had a champion team to work with now that we have come back to the pack he looks like the clueless inept captain he is. Clark or the Kat would be far better options but no way will the board sack Ponting. Unless he falls on his sword.....

 

[Ridders]

Wow another Ponting basher. Is he the greatest tactical captain ever? No. One of the greatest let-downs in my lifetime was not seeing Warne captain Australia. After Warne was he the best candidate? I would say so. Tell me who else you would have opted for.

 

[Garts]

Pretty harsh. Take two once in a generation bowlers from any side and they will struggle. This is not Pontings fault. I actually we have not been too bad since we lost those players, I was expecting us to do much worse.

 

[hineyrulz]

Wow another Ponting basher. Is he the greatest tactical captain ever? No. One of the greatest let-downs in my lifetime was not seeing Warne captain Australia. After Warne was he the best candidate? I would say so. Tell me who else you would have opted for.

If Warnie was made captain he may still be playing, who knows??? I don't rate him as a captain never have, i'm sick of all the crap forced down our throats by dickheads on Ch 9 and other clowns in the media telling us what a great skipper he is.

Ponting finished me whan he lashed out at Allan Border in India after he pretty much said what everyone was thinking. AB has done more for Australian cricket than Ponting could ever dream of. Honestly if Kat or Clarke could do a better job i'm not here. In no way am i detracting anything from his batting, he's one of the greatest batsman i have had the pleasure to watch.

 

[Ridders]

*Doubt Post*

 

[Ridders]

I agree, if Warne was captain, he would still be playing. Problem with Kat or Clarke is that there is no way you can demote Ponting from the captaincy and still keep him in the team. There is no way a player of his stature, after holding the mantle for so long, would accept it.

Ponting always gets critisized for having a champion team, someone explain to me how he is any different to Steve Waugh? People always critisize Ponting when IMO he is at least on par with Waugh if not better from a captaincy perspective. People say he inherited a great side. How is that any different to what Waugh had given to him from Taylor? Remember Waugh was the one who couldn't get us to win in India despite possessing one of Australia's greatest ever sides. That Waugh was the one who oversaw the follow-on debacle and did f**k all as Laxman and Dravid pranced around all day. Remember that Ponting was the one who finally broke our Indian hoodoo. Lets not forget that Waugh was the one who nearly killed Brett Lee's career by trying to make him bowl to 7-2 fields, without realizing that not every fast bowler is like McGrath.

Don't tell me that Ponting's side was equal to Waugh's as Ponting got the team when it was beginning its descent while Waugh got it when it was approaching its absolute apex, from Taylor. Steve Waugh's captaincy is truly one of the most over-rated facts in recent cricketing history and it kills me that he is regarded so highly while Ponting is rated as a guy with no idea.

Sure Ponting has his flaws, and i'll be the first the admit it, but if people are going to create idiotic threads like this one, at least try to look at things objectively.

 

[JJ]

I agree, if Warne was captain, he would still be playing. Problem with Kat or Clarke is that there is no way you can demote Ponting from the captaincy and still keep him in the team. There is no way a player of his stature, after holding the mantle for so long, would accept it.

Ponting always gets critisized for having a champion team, someone explain to me how he is any different to Steve Waugh? People always critisize Ponting when IMO he is at least on par with Waugh if not better from a captaincy perspective. People say he inherited a great side. How is that any different to what Waugh had given to him from Taylor? Remember Waugh was the one who couldn't get us to win in India despite possessing one of Australia's greatest ever sides. That Waugh was the one who oversaw the follow-on debacle and did f**k all as Laxman and Dravid pranced around all day. Remember that Ponting was the one who finally broke our Indian hoodoo. Lets not forget that Waugh was the one who nearly killed Brett Lee's career by trying to make him bowl to 7-2 fields, without realizing that not every fast bowler is like McGrath.

Don't tell me that Ponting's side was equal to Waugh's as Ponting got the team when it was beginning its descent while Waugh got it when it was approaching its absolute apex, from Taylor. Steve Waugh's captaincy is truly one of the most over-rated facts in recent cricketing history and it kills me that he is regarded so highly while Ponting is rated as a guy with no idea.

Sure Ponting has his flaws, and i'll be the first the admit it, but if people are going to create idiotic threads like this one, at least try to look at things objectively.

Got to agree with that... people are ignoring the context...

Waugh was a great player, but an ordinary captain

Hughes was a strange appointment - lacked the support of senior players and had a mediocre side facing perhaps the greatest side in history

I am a huge Border fan, but everyone seems to have forgotten that in his early years as captain he was subject to hige criticism as Hadlee and others terrorised mediocre Australian teams...

 

[madunit]

Look at the strike players Ponting has had, a few guys nearing the end of their careers and a heap of youngish guys who are nowhere near as good.

Let us not forget that the standard of cricket in a lot of the countries has improved, while Australia has coasted at the same level for about 10 years now.

If Ponting had just one decent, reliable and consistent bowler he'd be winning more tests and threads like this would never start.

Instead hopeless hacks like Siddle and Hauritz keep getting picked. The only reason being that they are the best of the worst.

Waugh had an abundance of bowling options throughout his captaincy, McGrath, Gillespie, Lee, Bichel, Kasprowicz, Warne, MacGill to name the guys who played the most under his reign.

Ponting at present has Lee, Clark, Johnson and to a lesser extent Hilfenhaus. No decent spinner and no decent back up bowlers.

The fact he's won Test with that rabble is a f**king miracle alone.

Waugh was able to be aggressive, he had the best bowling line up in the world.

 

[skeepe]

I agree, if Warne was captain, he would still be playing. Problem with Kat or Clarke is that there is no way you can demote Ponting from the captaincy and still keep him in the team. There is no way a player of his stature, after holding the mantle for so long, would accept it.

Ponting always gets critisized for having a champion team, someone explain to me how he is any different to Steve Waugh? People always critisize Ponting when IMO he is at least on par with Waugh if not better from a captaincy perspective. People say he inherited a great side. How is that any different to what Waugh had given to him from Taylor? Remember Waugh was the one who couldn't get us to win in India despite possessing one of Australia's greatest ever sides. That Waugh was the one who oversaw the follow-on debacle and did f**k all as Laxman and Dravid pranced around all day. Remember that Ponting was the one who finally broke our Indian hoodoo. Lets not forget that Waugh was the one who nearly killed Brett Lee's career by trying to make him bowl to 7-2 fields, without realizing that not every fast bowler is like McGrath.

Don't tell me that Ponting's side was equal to Waugh's as Ponting got the team when it was beginning its descent while Waugh got it when it was approaching its absolute apex, from Taylor. Steve Waugh's captaincy is truly one of the most over-rated facts in recent cricketing history and it kills me that he is regarded so highly while Ponting is rated as a guy with no idea.

Sure Ponting has his flaws, and i'll be the first the admit it, but if people are going to create idiotic threads like this one, at least try to look at things objectively.

Very well said. I find it strange that a man who will go down in history as one of the all-time greatest ever players is ridiculed and derided so much.

 

[Mr Angry]

I don't rate punter as a captain.

One of the best bats ever, but I don't rate his captaincy.

No real alternative until he retires.

That said cricket is changing, the days of one captain running all teams are gorn IMO.