SA Footy

Warnie has had a go at Ponting over Horries field in the second test. One of his comments was 'how is Horrie supposed to bowl to that'. Punter has responded by saying 'It was Horrie who set those fields not me'.

Oh dear. That tells me that we either have two defense first proponents of the game out there or neither of them know what the hell they are doing. Perhaps both are true!

Ponting you are captain. It is no good saying 'It is all Horrie's fault'. When I was captain of my star studded WYC D Grade lineup if a bowler wanted a field I would give it too him. I'd also be asking him a question....'How are you trying to get him out'. If that question can't be answered by the bowler then I'd implement my own plans and instruct the guy how I would like him to bowl. YOU MUST HAVE A PLAN FOR TAKING WICKETS. SAVING RUNS IS SOMETHING THAT SHOULD BE USED SPARINGLY, NOT AS A FIRST CHOICE TACTIC.

Some may say there may be an element of jealousy in Warnie's comments to Ponting as Warnie never got the gig himself. However I rate Warne as the most astute observer of the game I have ever heard since I started following test cricket when Mike Denness' Englishman got bounced back to the stone age by Lillee and Thomson. One thing has remained a constant through all those years...attacking cricket is winning cricket.

Sorry Punter, you're a great bat but you can't captain for 5hit.

regards,

REB

Couldn't agree with that any more REB, great post.

Ponting is one of Australias best ever batsmen. Does that make a good captain, id have to say no. Some of his tactical decisions and field settings have been terrible, he goes defensive too early and isnt a forward thinker. Its not entirely his fault but with better captaincy we wouldnt have lost the ashes, would have beaten the pakis 2-0 and should have got a 1-1 draw at worst with India. He comes out and says we didnt take chances against India in 1st test. Hang on when Laxman was batting with the bunnies were you not the one who was giving Laxman singles to get the tailenders to face. What a joke and some of bowling changes hilarious. He will stay captain cos we havnt got anything better at moment

Very well said by all on here. He's not a great captain. Unfortunately there isn't a better option. Clarke has really fallen back as a candidate IMHO and would want to actually make a run to keep his spot let alone be considered for the top job. Ponting might not be doing the job really well but he's the only person currently capable of handling it.

How much of this field placing strategy can be traced back to John Buchanan.
The field placings were mostly stats/percentage driven.
Tim Neilsen is a protege of Buchanan and Ponting a puppet.
Bring back the tacticians of the game who can analyse a batsmen in real time.
McGrath & Warne were such bowlers.

Dogmatic wrote:How much of this field placing strategy can be traced back to John Buchanan.
The field placings were mostly stats/percentage driven.
Tim Neilsen is a protege of Buchanan and Ponting a puppet.
Bring back the tacticians of the game who can analyse a batsmen in real time.
McGrath & Warne were such bowlers.

Warne= smartest cricket brain i have ever listened to.

Next Viv Richards.

Rik E Boy wrote:However I rate Warne as the most astute observer of the game I have ever heard since I started following test cricket

regards,

REB

Love his comments. The best special comments guy going around.

OnSong wrote:

Rik E Boy wrote:However I rate Warne as the most astute observer of the game I have ever heard since I started following test cricket

regards,

REB

Love his comments. The best special comments guy going around.

X1

would love to see him coach the national side one day.

Bring back Warney. He would do a hell of a lot better than the puss Hauritz is bowling these days. Come back Warney. Help cricket be exciting again.

whufc wrote:

Dogmatic wrote:How much of this field placing strategy can be traced back to John Buchanan.
The field placings were mostly stats/percentage driven.
Tim Neilsen is a protege of Buchanan and Ponting a puppet.
Bring back the tacticians of the game who can analyse a batsmen in real time.
McGrath & Warne were such bowlers.

Warne= smartest cricket brain i have ever listened to.

Next Viv Richards.

Interesting call that. Viv was my favourite batsman when I was growing up and I bought his Autobiography 'Hitting accross the line'. In it he proved to be a more defensive observer of the game than he ever did with a bat in his hand. Why Viv felt the need to prove anything other than what he did on the field was beyond me. Certainly not unintelligent but there was a fair chip there.

regards,

REB

I rate his captaincy about 4 out of 10
Im bewildered at times at the usage of bowlers at certain times over quite a few test matches

He did set an unusual but effective field for Shewag last Test match that worked

He showed great judgement to replace George after about 1 over to bowl Johnson against the incoming batsman Dravid in the first dig[and got Dravid out cheap]
That was smart astute captaincy
Bit then just as stooooopid was spelling Johnson in the 2nd dig when Dravid came in to bat
Go figure

mal wrote:He showed great judgement to replace George after about 1 over to bowl Johnson against the incoming batsman Dravid in the first dig[and got Dravid out cheap]
That was smart astute captaincy

Personally I think it was dumb captaincy that got lucky.
George was no doubt very nervous and to replace him after 1 over wouldn't of done him any good.
Give him a pat on the back and tell him you're backing him in and to hit the spots.

smithy wrote:

mal wrote:He showed great judgement to replace George after about 1 over to bowl Johnson against the incoming batsman Dravid in the first dig[and got Dravid out cheap]
That was smart astute captaincy

Personally I think it was dumb captaincy that got lucky.
George was no doubt very nervous and to replace him after 1 over wouldn't of done him any good.
Give him a pat on the back and tell him you're backing him in and to hit the spots.

You've hit the nail right on the head here smithy. When you've got guys like Warnie, Lee and McGrath at your disposal you just wind up and let them go. However when you've got less experienced bowlers you've just got to back them and encourage them. I know this because one time the side I was captain of made 300 but I didn't have confidence in our attack. I set mainly defensive fields and backed our side to restrict rather than bowl out the opposition. With about one hour to go it looked like working, we were 160 to the good. But we got flogged in that last hour and we lost a match we should have won. Lesson learnt.

From then on I made sure every player in the side had a role and knew what that role was and I backed them to fill that role. Now this is in Z grade hard wicket cricket so sometimes roles need to be defined. But one thing remains a constant...YOU'VE GOT TO BACK THE BOWLERS. If you don't you go defensive and lose matches...particularly test matches.

regards,

REB

Ponting is not a good captain, this debate comes up every time we play a dercent side, and the team is under pressure. Not always your best batsman has to be captain. Is Tendulkar captain of India " NO ". Couldnt beleive Ponting had no slips to George. George was bowling a useful spell and had a couple of nicks fly through that region. The field Ponting had was a disgrace. Two fielders in close on legside. Was he wanting his bowlers to bowl legside. I know the wicket was flat, but surely you still need at least 1 slip for quicks. Make Katich captain for Ashes.

The Cadet wrote:Ponting is not a good captain, this debate comes up every time we play a dercent side, and the team is under pressure. Not always your best batsman has to be captain. Is Tendulkar captain of India " NO ". Couldnt beleive Ponting had no slips to George. George was bowling a useful spell and had a couple of nicks fly through that region. The field Ponting had was a disgrace. Two fielders in close on legside. Was he wanting his bowlers to bowl legside. I know the wicket was flat, but surely you still need at least 1 slip for quicks. Make Katich captain for Ashes.

Hear Hear. But CA won't hear of it. Kiss the Ashes goodbye with Captain Clueless in charge.

regards,

REB

Rik E Boy wrote:

The Cadet wrote:Ponting is not a good captain, this debate comes up every time we play a dercent side, and the team is under pressure. Not always your best batsman has to be captain. Is Tendulkar captain of India " NO ". Couldnt beleive Ponting had no slips to George. George was bowling a useful spell and had a couple of nicks fly through that region. The field Ponting had was a disgrace. Two fielders in close on legside. Was he wanting his bowlers to bowl legside. I know the wicket was flat, but surely you still need at least 1 slip for quicks. Make Katich captain for Ashes.

Hear Hear. But CA won't hear of it. Kiss the Ashes goodbye with Captain Clueless in charge.

regards,

REB

If we lose the Ashes then I reckon Ricky could be done. You might just get what you're after then REB.

He'll retire in Sydney before he's pushed.

Gingernuts wrote:

Rik E Boy wrote:

The Cadet wrote:Ponting is not a good captain, this debate comes up every time we play a dercent side, and the team is under pressure. Not always your best batsman has to be captain. Is Tendulkar captain of India " NO ". Couldnt beleive Ponting had no slips to George. George was bowling a useful spell and had a couple of nicks fly through that region. The field Ponting had was a disgrace. Two fielders in close on legside. Was he wanting his bowlers to bowl legside. I know the wicket was flat, but surely you still need at least 1 slip for quicks. Make Katich captain for Ashes.

Hear Hear. But CA won't hear of it. Kiss the Ashes goodbye with Captain Clueless in charge.

regards,

REB

If we lose the Ashes then I reckon Ricky could be done. You might just get what you're after then REB.

Then I won't get what I'm after becuase Angleterre would have retained the Ashes.

regards,

REB

Totally agree with most of the comments on here bit I don't know who a good captaincy option is in that team at the moment. I reckon till Ponting retires he's gonna be the skipper. Let's just hope he makes the right calls during the Ashes series.

I think if we lose the Ashes Ponting will get sacked as captain. I'm not sure how much longer the team can afford to have as capatin either. Some of his fielding and bowling decisions in India started getting to me and just reminded me of the last Test series over there where his poor decison making almost single handedly cost us retaining the trophy.