Who will replace Ponting? a guessing game in Australia

Big cricket news in Australia was the retirement of Australian batting legend and Captain Ricky Ponting and his failure to go out of the game in a blaze of glory. When the illustrious genius announced his retirement, and was playing in the final Test against South Africa at the WACA, hopes ran high that Ponting would make his bat talk, make a big score, get his swan song etched in history and that the team would bid him farewell with a victory.

But that longing did not materialize as Ponting was out cheaply in both innings, failing to even enter double figures and adding salt to the Aussie wounds was that South Africa pummeled them by the big margin of 309 runs— its worst loss in terms of runs for 42 years.

Illustrious career

When Ponting walked out in the second inning, his final innings in his illustrious career, the South Africans led by skipper Graeme Smith formed two rows and cheered him to the wicket. It brought back memories the late great Australian captain and batsman Sir Donald Bradman received when he played his final innings against England in 1948. Bradman was bowled by Eric Hollies for no score. It was moving and everyone on the ground, around Australia and the cricket world were moved. Ponting sure would have had his eyes moist. Present to cheer and console him was his wife Rianna and two kids. He hugged and kissed his family, never again to take the long walk to the wicket or back. In the two decades he played he walked every cricketing field like a colossus. He was an eye catching batsman : he had every stroke in the book, executed them with fine timing and elegance, added perfection to whatever he did and was great inspiration.

Play against Sri Lanka

Ponting was expecting to play in the series against Sri Lanka and then call it a day. But the cricketing gods had decreed otherwise and his failure to get among the runs against South Africa,prompted his critics to call for his retirement.

How the great batsman will go from here will be interesting to watch.

There is the possibility of him being made coach of Tasmania for whom he played. Tasmanian coach Tim Coyle will leave at the end of the 2012-13 season.

Captain of the Australian Twenty20 side George Bailey who leads

Tasmania says Ponting would be the ideal replacement if he wanted the job. And Bailey gives his reasons as to why Ponting should be given the job.

Ponting to coach Tasmania?

‘I think he’d make a good coach of anything. His ability to coach and to pick things up in individuals and as a group I think he’s second to none in the country. He really can be an outstanding coach. Tasmanian coach Tim Coyle says that he is already renowned for his coaching of batsmen. But said it was his ability to read the game and out-think other players that would make him an excellent coach.

‘He sees things in individuals, batters and bowlers, that us mere mortals take years to identify. But he sees them very quickly. He’s just got an innate understanding of what has to happen, whether it’s with the ball or with the bat. He’s brilliant in this area.

Eyes on Aussie selectors

With the quitting of Ponting, all eyes are focused on the Australian selectors comprising Coach Mickey Arthur, Captain, Michael Clarke, John Inverarity (chairman) Andy Bichel and Rod Marsh. While a keen contest is on to fit into Ponting’s position in the Australian line-up, former Australian Captain Mark Taylor has urged the selectors, in an interview with the “Canberra Times,” to use their gut feeling rather than rely purely on statistics.

Batsmen vying for Ponting’s slot are Philip Hughes, Usman Khawaja, Alex Doolan and Rob Quiney. Taylor urges the selectors to look more subjectively and not to only to be focusing on the local form when choosing replacements for Ponting. ‘It is going to be more selecting on the gut feel…and I would like to see the selectors do that, going forward. Earmark the guys they think can play, who can handle Test-match cricket, and then pick them.

Terrific cricketer

‘We know that Khawaja and Phil Hughes can do that. And they are probably top of the ranks. But there are other players on there. A young guy from NSW – Moises Henriques – I think he’s a terrific cricketer and he’s probably as likely to get a hundred on Test debut as he is to get a hundred for his grade cricket side. ‘There is so much cricket these days – with T20 all around the world – so it’s not always easy to pick guys on the old system of making runs in grade cricket, getting in the state team, and getting picked in the Test team.

‘That may not necessarily work going forward. I think the selectors have to be more subjective in the way they pick their players in the future’, concludes the former Australian Captain who in his glittering career scored 334 not out, the best by Sir Donald Bradman, and through respect for the great man decided not to proceed further and be the highest individual run scorer for Australia.

Thomson lets fly

Former Australian speed merchant Jeff Thomson who along with Dennis Lillee, let fly at batsmen— hitting them and having them ducking and weaving fearing they would be hit, blamed the selectors for Australia’s defeat in the final Test in Perth to South Africa. Incidentally Thomson is best remembered by the Sri Lankans for sending Duleep Mendis and Sunil Wettimuny to hospital in a World Cup game at the Oval in the 1970s.

With Sri Lanka chasing a big Australian total for victory and being nicely positioned to achieve that, skipper Ian Chappell called on Thomson and told him what to do. Thomson bowled a stinging delivery that climbed off a good length to hit Mendis on the head dropping him motionless to the ground. He also hit Wettimuny on the in-step with a snorter sending both to hospital and in the end Sri Lanka fell short of victory target. Witness from the stand to the drama unfolding when Thomson felled Mendis were Collin Fernando and Cas Jaleel. When in England I met them and they described to me how frightening it was the way Mendis fell to the ground and they feared for the worst. But Mendis is made of sterner stuff!

Meeting with Sri Lankans

While in Canberra covering Sri Lanka’s tour opener against the Chairman’s X1 at the Manuka Oval, I met with Bhagya Epasinghe, the former Thomian stylish opening batsman. Now Bhagya is the son of a man who needs no introduction to the world of cricket and commentating, in English and Sinhala, the one and only Premasara Epasinghe. Premasara was the Nalanda opening batsman and wicket keeper in 1957 when Chandrasiri Weerasinghe was captain. Premasara later played for Saracens and the University. It was also nice meeting two outstanding sportsmen from my school St. Benedict’s College, Kotahena: Rienzie Rupesinghe and Rohan Perera. Rienzie was the second hockey captain of SBC in 1954, with the first ever captain being Dennis de Rosaiyro in 1955.

Colourful characters

In the good old days Rienzie’s brother Charlie who was a colourful character not only at SBC but at Kotahena was the cricket cheer leader until another colourful character Kenneth Dabrera took over and it was Dabrera’s cheering that inspired Sunil Fernando’s team to beat St. Joseph’s after over 40 years.

Rohan was an all rounder at cricket and played with his brothers

Lalith who captained SBC in 1974 and Sarath. The three brothers were outstanding and served the school with great dedication. Incidentally their father Bertrem was a superb gymnast and with his partners Amal Gomes and Trevor Buultjens formed a threesome of gymnasts who were in great demand for Independence Day celebrations in the 1950s. Their uncle Terrence captained SBC in 1933 and lived well passed the century mark. He shone for Bloomfield and later took up to coaching SBC and produced some classy cricketers. Rohan’s other uncle’s sons Carlyle and Travis played for St. Joseph’s College and the University.