Allan Border is exactly the kind of guy that the Australian cricket team needs right now. The no fuss, impatient former captain would bring a strong hand to the tiller, condemning mavericks to the brig and making the under-performing walk the plank. From the SMH:
”We all know what a wonderful player Shane Watson is,” Border wrote. ”He looks like a million bucks when he’s firing. What is worrying though is that he keeps getting out in the same fashion. Now who is to blame here? Is it Watson for not adapting? What about the coaches?’
”In an era where we’ve got a thousand coaches and psychoanalysts and dietitians and sport scientists it defies belief that a player can be making the same
”Is Shane not listening, or are people saying, ‘Bad luck, you got a good one’? We need to find out what the best is for Shane. Is it opening the batting? Or maybe batting at six and making him a genuine all-rounder?
”Whatever it is, we need to find out soon or Shane’s time will have come and gone and we won’t have seen the best of him. The buck stops with Shane and he needs to figure it out quickly because it will be a real shame if he doesn’t fulfil his potential.”
”Watching today I could honestly say the nine, 10 and jack [No.11] looked more competent than our one, two and three. If that was me in the top three I’d be embarrassed,” Border said.
”We need to settle on our best 11 and stay with it. I’m a believer in the pick-and-stick method, so we need to find our best 11 that’s suited to the conditions and stick with it.
Problem is, this should all have been done two years ago. Then again after India. Doing it on the run, amid back-to-back Ashes series is a disaster. Ultimately the selectors are to blame.
