I think a lot of this situation is the result of the so called “rotation policy”.

With guys coming and going out of the side for no apparent reason ….. and based on no sort of comprehensible criteria …... and also a rate faster than Black Caviar can trot out…..... the focus for half the team if not more ….. becomes one of pure survival.

Gone are all thoughts of “team”, for anyone earning an income and not in the small select core group of the team (if one actually exists, outside of Clarke himself) ..........

It is just a matter of self preservation and that alone, so do your best and stuff the team, cause you may not be in it tomorrow, no matter how many runs or wickets you get today.

So it’s against that backdrop I reckon, that the coach decides to palm of his responsibilities, and seek the players views (he’s obviously ran out of ideas) .... but when you’re pay check is on the line each time you put a baggy green on your head, who cares what anyone else is doing, you’d have more than enough to worry about in your own performance, without worrying about the other guys in the team.

Then you have the likes of Clarke and Watson who allegedly can’t stand each other …... . and all of this goes on under the gaze of the so called coach.

This alleged “tension” between the captain and Vice captain is just allowed to continue unfettered …... and while it just festers away, it poisions any possible team spirit.

There is no easy answer, as the cupboards seem to be bare of any real replacement stock at the moment, but for mine, the festering sores within Australian Cricket is a little deeper than a bunch of fringe players not performing well under tough conditions in India.

Selectors who go with this rotation policy may think its in the long term interest of the team . but it’s clearly not, it’s just killing any “team” ..... so get rid of the selectors, and get some who know how to pick a team, and how to build a team for the future.

Stand behind the selections and give the selected players a decent friggin run at it and not have them on the edge of their seat after every single innings.

Give them some long term commitment, and not ….. “your in today and out tomorrow” cause we think you may like a rest.

Make the best choices, have faith in them and allow them the time to perform and develop.

The coach, as others have stated, give him the axe, cause he clearly has no respect from the players …... and get someone in the job who the players will respect, and someone who has “been there and done that”.

The Captain and Vice Captain .. if they can’t work together on field or off it ….. then make the tough choice and just cut one from the herd completely, cause its definitely not helping anything.

There is a distinct lack of leadership from anyone in Cricket Australia at the moment, despite the ship going down for the third time …........ and if the current Board don’t act immediately, and just let thigns meander on aimlessly …..... I reckon you can kiss all thoughts of a decent team re-emerging goodbye.

The Argus report fixed all this didn’t it?

All that came from that was an over managed team with the stupid situation allowing the captain and coach to be selectors.

They should stick to captaining and coaching only and there should be 3 independent selectors. No conflicts of interest, personality and mate picks then.

Clarke I don’t rate as a captain, poor bowling rotations and poor field placements especially for spin bowling, won’t bowl himself and has reluctantly moved up the order. He should have been batting no 3 or 4 at the start of the series.

He has history with conflict, eg Katich and the team song fiasco. Having said that Bradman was an unpopular cricketer in a successful side.

Baggy green one day, fat IPL contract the next, do they care enough?

Does the baggy green really mean all that much to the current group of players? Or are they just filling in time until the next T20 competition starts….

Handicap, I’m working on it. – Edit: Feb 2013 still, working on it.

Definitely not.

Further more to your T20 comment I think the reason is because in the past it used to be a privilege to get selected to play test cricket for Australia and in doing so earning your baggy green. Earning the cap before meant you had landed yourself a spot in the test side, you weren’t worried about being rotated out after 1 game.

Fast forward to today and the baggy green means nothing because players are being put in to the side on a “lets see what happens: basis.

http://www.golflink.com.au/...

VISION TEST TEAM PILOT #006

Peg has Bear_Vision

That must be a really new episode, Peg :-)

http://www.golflink.com.au/...

VISION TEST TEAM PILOT #006

Peg has Bear_Vision

That must be a really new episode, Peg :-)

“If God didn’t want us to eat animals, why did he make them out of meat?”

Could well be …...... That’s from a post on Facebook from an Aussie in India. So who knows. .....

http://www.golflink.com.au/...

VISION TEST TEAM PILOT #006

Peg has Bear_Vision

That must be a really new episode, Peg :-)

“If God didn’t want us to eat animals, why did he make them out of meat?”

Could well be ……... That’s from a post on Facebook from an Aussie in India. So who knows. .....

http://www.golflink.com.au/...

VISION TEST TEAM PILOT #006

Peg has Bear_Vision

Only room for one Golden Boy at a time you reckon Peg.
He allegedly did much the same sort of thing to Andrew Symonds when they both competing for the same trophy.

……..... and if the current Board don’t act immediately, and just let thigns meander on aimlessly …….. I reckon you can kiss all thoughts of a decent team re-emerging goodbye.

Its going to be a long road back…

Warnes solution a slab of beer and some music behind closed doors, old school, Cricket Australia’s solution, send a shrink, new school.

Indictment on poor management. Anyone party to this decision should be shown the door.

If there is a culture of poor behaviour you dont come in and enact unknown penalities. Based on the surprise of the players they were unaware of the penalties for not providing the requested information. This shows poor communication skills from the coach.

The players shouldve been made aware of the ramifications for not completing the questionaire before hand.

This line in the sand is just bs. It just shows how incompetent the team management are.

Will the players now do these stupid things? yes.
but they will harbor resentment and do it out of fear rather than out of engagement.

This is how dictators work. Not leaders.

Gallant Aust fall Short, Cricket Australias latest headline.Do they know what gallant means.Cheerleading fools.How about 6 wicket loss from Bickering Jerks.

and within 4 days

Petulant idiots like Patterson will lose their rag come Ashes.Lay down Sally more class than this team.

4-0 result to the Indians. Great result if you’re an Indian supporter.

I’m sure Ricky Ponting would’ve done better than some of the other pretenders. Never wanted him to go in the first place.

There is a road back though
India is a tough place to play
And, indeed away teams tend to struggle

for example

Have a look at the results the last time India toured HERE.

And then look where India is on the league table now.

So, these cricketers are paid a fortune (more than most of us would earn in 2 decades!!) to play a game for a living.
Get flown all around the world in luxury, get the best of everything and are pretty much treated like rock stars where ever they go…..

But as soon as they are asked to do something, like filling out a bit of paper explaining why they are playing like poo and what they can do better, 4 players couldn’t be bothered to do it!!

And the majority of the world wants to try and say the players are hard done by and have been screwed over?? PLEASE!!
Give me a break!!

Whilst i am deffinetly no fan of Arthur and all this rubbish rotation policy, personally I think what they’ve done here is a good thing. And if Watson wants to take his ball and go home cause he got in trouble (like a frigin little schoolgirl), then so be it!!

Could you imagine what Wayne Bennett, or Craig Bellamy etc would do if one of their players was instructed to do something like this and didn’t do it……. I’m pretty sure they’d be sitting out the next game as well.
Why should cricketers be any different??

“He who’s tired of Weird Al, is tired of life!!”
-Homer Simpson

Spot on lipout, for so called professional athletes they are a joke. these are ppl who go to a sporting institute for free, my son is still paying off his hex after 10 years, they then go on to multi million dollar contracts and think the rules do not apply to them. Stuff them all and make the wankers suffer.

So, these cricketers are paid a fortune (more than most of us would earn in 2 decades!!) to play a game for a living.
Get flown all around the world in luxury, get the best of everything and are pretty much treated like rock stars where ever they go…..

But as soon as they are asked to do something, like filling out a bit of paper explaining why they are playing like poo and what they can do better, 4 players couldn’t be bothered to do it!!

And the majority of the world wants to try and say the players are hard done by and have been screwed over?? PLEASE!!
Give me a break!!

Whilst i am deffinetly no fan of Arthur and all this rubbish rotation policy, personally I think what they’ve done here is a good thing. And if Watson wants to take his ball and go home cause he got in trouble (like a frigin little schoolgirl), then so be it!!

Could you imagine what Wayne Bennett, or Craig Bellamy etc would do if one of their players was instructed to do something like this and didn’t do it……. I’m pretty sure they’d be sitting out the next game as well.
Why should cricketers be any different??

“He who’s tired of Weird Al, is tired of life!!”
-Homer Simpson

Spot on lipout, for so called professional athletes they are a joke. these are ppl who go to a sporting institute for free, my son is still paying off his hex after 10 years, they then go on to multi million dollar contracts and think the rules do not apply to them. Stuff them all and make the wankers suffer.

I will break 90 this year.

It is NOT my age.

It is NOT for 9 holes.

If your son is paying off hex, then I would be worried. Maybe the local witch needs a visit?

No Aussies have ever won a US Masters and an Ashes in same year.

My opinion on this is that Australia cricket isnt in shambles, the standard Australia sets itself in cricket is way too high & unrealistic at the moment.

It will come good in time unlikely it will reach the heights of the “Warne, Gilchrist, Hayden, McGrath, Waugh’ era but it will improve.