Since the last Ashes series here

[Gozu]

I thought I'd chart how we've gone in Test cricket since the last Ashes series at home in 2006/07 when we beat the poms 5-0. Of course Warne, McGrath, Langer & Martyn all retired during or immediately after that series and four years on we've now dropped all the way down to 5th in the Test rankings. Here are the results for all the Test series we've played since then and the leading run scorers and wicket takers for each team during that series:

2007

def Sri Lanka 2-0 at home

Phil Jaques 318 runs @ 106 & Brett Lee 16wk @ 17.56
Kumar Sangakkara 249 runs @ 124.5 & Muttiah Muralitharan 4wk @ 100

2007/08

def India 2-1 (1 draw) at home

Matthew Hayden 410 runs @ 82 & Brett Lee 24wk @ 22.58
Sachin Tendulkar 493 runs @ 70.42 & Anil Kumble 20wk @ 34.45

[Gozu]

2008

def West Indies 2-0 (1 draw) in West Indies

Ricky Ponting 323 runs @ 53.83 & Brett Lee 18wk @ 23.72
Shivnarine Chanderpaul 442 runs @ 147.33 & Fidel Edwards 15wk @ 25.13

lost to India 2-0 (2 draws) in India

Michael Hussey 394 runs @ 56.28 & Mitchell Johnson 13wk @ 40.07
Gautam Gambhir 463 runs @ 77.16 & Ishant Sharma 15wk @ 27.06

def New Zealand 2-0 at home

Michael Clarke 217 runs @ 72.33 & Mitchell Johnson 14wk @ 11
Ross Taylor 160 runs @ 40 & Iain O'Brien 7wk @ 30.42

2008/09

lost to South Africa 2-1 at home

Michael Clarke 383 runs @ 76.6 & Mitchell Johnson 17wk @ 25.88
Graeme Smith 326 runs @ 65.2 & Dale Steyn 18wk @ 26.16

2009

def South Africa 2-1 in South Africa

Phil Hughes 415 runs @ 69.16 & Mitchell Johnson 16wk @ 25
AB de Villiers 357 runs @ 89.25 & Dale Steyn 16wk @ 29.62

lost to England 2-1 (2 draws) in England

Michael Clarke 448 runs @ 64 & Ben Hilfenhaus 22wk @ 27.45
Andrew Strauss 474 runs @ 52.66 & Stuart Broad 18wk @ 30.22

def West Indies 2-0 (1 draw) at home

Simon Katich 302 runs @ 60.4 & Mitchell Johnson 17wk @ 28.05
Chris Gayle 346 runs @ 69.2 & Dwayne Bravo 11wk @ 29

[Gozu]

2009/10

def Pakistan 3-0 at home

Ricky Ponting 378 runs @ 63 & Nathan Hauritz 18wk @ 23.05
Salman Butt 280 runs @ 46.66 & Mohammad Asif 13wk @ 28.46

2010

def New Zealand 2-0 in New Zealand

Simon Katich 291 runs @ 97 & Doug Bollinger 12wk @ 21
Ross Taylor 206 runs @ 51.5 & Daniel Vettori 7wk @ 45.57

drew with Pakistan 1-1 in England

Simon Katich 187 runs @ 46.75 & Shane Watson 11wk @ 10.63
Salman Butt 213 runs @ 53.25 & Mohammad Amir 11wk @ 22.27

lost to India 2-0 in India

Shane Watson 271 runs @ 67.75 & Mitchell Johnson 8wk @ 32.62
Sachin Tendulkar 403 runs @ 134.33 & Zaheer Khan 12wk @ 21.83

[Pottsy]

So 8 series wins, 4 losses and a draw.

That gets us from first to fifth in the rankings. Harsh!

The two that hurt most have to be Cardiff and Mohali. One bloody wicket each time, one probably cost us the Ashes and the other some serious pride.

[The Dark Knight]

So 8 series wins, 4 losses and a draw.

That gets us from first to fifth in the rankings. Harsh!

The two that hurt most have to be Cardiff and Mohali. One bloody wicket each time, one probably cost us the Ashes and the other some serious pride.

Yeah Agreed Pottsy, it is very harsh. Just looking over the results, we've done pretty good considering we're fifth in the rankings!

[Media Park]

It goes like this. This was the fifth Test side in the 2007 Ashes:

JL Langer RETIRED
ML Hayden RETIRED
RT Ponting* NEEDS TO RETIRE
MEK Hussey NEEDS TO RETIRE
MJ Clarke STILL GOING OKAY
A Symonds SACKED
AC Gilchrist† RETIRED
SK Warne RETIRED
B Lee RETIRED
SR Clark RETIRED
GD McGrath RETIRED

Now I'm throwing D MARTYN into that mix, because he was my favorite cricketer, and he retired after the third Test.

So we've got a case that in three years, there's only three regulars still around, and two of them shouldn't be.

It's cool that we've got a few guys going alright- a stable opening combination, a good battle for the keepers job (IMO Paine is better than Haddin, but Haddin will return straight away), and some serviceable pace bowlers.

What we do not have is middle order players keeping their averages at the fifty mark (HUSS is there, but it is on the slide, and NORTH will never get there).

We have no spin bowling options of Test standard (We were spoiled by Warne, and MacGill, when barring Vettori and Kumble, no country really had a Test standard slow bowler for twenty years- I refuse to acknowledge that Sri Lankan), and we play one for the sake of it, although the stats say Hauritz has gone alright in this era (SMITH and O'KEEFE are our only genuine future Test prospects).

We have no match winning quicks. RUG, HILF, SIDS, can all be the GILLESPIE of a bowling combination, but we need a MCGRATH type dominant wicket-taking pace bowler, and MJ can do it, but he is too inconsistent.

The next issue is the succession plan. KAT will go soon, regardless of form. He's 35, and when that form dips, he will be out- he has never been kissed on the dick by the selectors. The PONTIFF and HUSS will be gone shortly, and there's no player being blooded to come in.

[The Dark Knight]

Now I'm throwing D MARTYN into that mix, because he was my favorite cricketer, and he retired after the third Test.

Martyn retired after the second test.

[Pottsy]

It goes like this. This was the fifth Test side in the 2007 Ashes:

JL Langer RETIRED
ML Hayden RETIRED
RT Ponting* NEEDS TO RETIRE
MEK Hussey NEEDS TO RETIRE
MJ Clarke STILL GOING OKAY
A Symonds SACKED
AC Gilchrist† RETIRED
SK Warne RETIRED
B Lee RETIRED
SR Clark RETIRED
GD McGrath RETIRED

Now I'm throwing D MARTYN into that mix, because he was my favorite cricketer, and he retired after the third Test.

So we've got a case that in three years, there's only three regulars still around, and two of them shouldn't be.

It's cool that we've got a few guys going alright- a stable opening combination, a good battle for the keepers job (IMO Paine is better than Haddin, but Haddin will return straight away), and some serviceable pace bowlers.

What we do not have is middle order players keeping their averages at the fifty mark (HUSS is there, but it is on the slide, and NORTH will never get there).

We have no spin bowling options of Test standard (We were spoiled by Warne, and MacGill, when barring Vettori and Kumble, no country really had a Test standard slow bowler for twenty years- I refuse to acknowledge that Sri Lankan), and we play one for the sake of it, although the stats say Hauritz has gone alright in this era (SMITH and O'KEEFE are our only genuine future Test prospects).

We have no match winning quicks. RUG, HILF, SIDS, can all be the GILLESPIE of a bowling combination, but we need a MCGRATH type dominant wicket-taking pace bowler, and MJ can do it, but he is too inconsistent.

The next issue is the succession plan. KAT will go soon, regardless of form. He's 35, and when that form dips, he will be out- he has never been kissed on the dick by the selectors. The PONTIFF and HUSS will be gone shortly, and there's no player being blooded to come in.

Agree with most of that MP, apart from the two bits in bold. Did you watch the Indian series? Ponting does not need to retire. Gillespie holds his own in pretty much any company.

But yeah, the middle order is shambolic at the mo. The sooner everyone in the heirarchy wakes up and realises that "succession plan" does not mean "wait til the old barstards want to retire", the better.