Ponting Should Retire Or Be Sacked

[The Cadet]

Ponting has been one of our best and one of the worlds best bat for some time now, but the day has come where he or the selectors need to make a big call on his future. Since January 2009 Ponting has averaged 37 with the bat well down on his career average. His captanincy has been poor and at age 36 it's time to say goodbye on a wonderful career. He has already had a extended run and If we are serious on rebuilding the test team then Ricky needs to step aside.

[Q.]

Tendulkar & Kallis are examples of why he may come good, although the former is one-of-a-kind and the latter is a year younger.

[Lightning McQueen]

He deserves to go out on his own accord, bat him at 6 to see how he goes, his hands seem to be somewhat tied as far as selections go and he can't paint a masterpiece with crayons.

[The Cadet]

He's had 2 years of underperforming not just this series against England. Great players such as M.Waugh, I.Healy and M.Hayden didn't get the chance to go out on there own terms.

Why Ponting Should Retire Or Be Sacked

1. His batting is up to Test standard anymore.
2. His captaincy is poor.
3. He will be 36 years and 7 months old when he plays his next Test.
4. He wont be there for our next Ashes campaign.
5. Australia need to rebuild under a new captain.

[Lightning McQueen]

He's had 2 years of underperforming not just this series against England. Great players such as M.Waugh, I.Healy and M.Hayden didn't get the chance to go out on there own terms.

Why Ponting Should Retire Or Be Sacked

1. His batting is up to Test standard anymore.
2. His captaincy is poor.
3. He will be 36 years and 7 months old when he plays his next Test.
4. He wont be there for our next Ashes campaign.
5. Australia need to rebuild under a new captain.

The 3 players you mentioned weren't captains, we need him atm to lead our side, I'm sure if he had a better crop he would be a better batsman/ captain. Healy had to go, he had the nation calling for his axing, he should've seen the light. The other two weren't performing and we had options at that stage.

[dedja]

... and there were ready made players in the wings to take their spot ... eg.Gilchrist for Healy

Where are those players today?

[Phantom Gossiper]

Ponting should be given a chance to leave on his terms, i honestly thought from back last year he would announce his retirement after the boxing day test and make SCG his farewell.

[sherminator]

Tendulkar & Kallis are examples of why he may come good, although the former is one-of-a-kind and the latter is a year younger.

He deserves to go out on his own accord, bat him at 6 to see how he goes, his hands seem to be somewhat tied as far as selections go and he can't paint a masterpiece with crayons.

I agree with LM. The old saying 'form is temporary, class is permanent'. Keep him in the side and bat him lower. When Ponting was at his very best he was coming in after Langer & Hayden had done a fair bit of heavy lifting. There was less pressure on him. Since their retirement we have had 'makeshift' openers meaning he is coming in earlier than before, often in the first hour. Bat him down the list a bit and offer him more protection. A man who has done so much for his country over his career deserves a bit of leniency (although, generally, I can also see the value of being ruthless).

As Quichey has pointed out, SRT & Kallis have come good after some lean times. The big difference there is that whilst Ponting bats 3, those guys bat 4 and have had some good protection of late. Kallis comes in after Smith, Peterson (McKenzie) & Amla whilst SRT has Sehwag, Gambhir & Dravid. It is rare that either is at the crease in the first hour or even first session. They get to bat when the ball is older and the pitch is a bit flatter.

As for Ponting's captaincy, unfortunately he will be long remembered for some poor decisions such as Edgbaston 05 etc. My question is how much influence/work do the coaching staff do? Watching this series there doesn't seem to be many specific plans for specific batsmen which I would have thought backroom staff, Nielsen etc. would be responsible for. Look at Trott for example. In the Aus 'A' game one of the commentators (Tubby IIRC) pointed out straight away that his technique suggested he is more comfortable legside than off-side yet I saw a graphic on 9 the other day when he was 61 he had only scored 10 on the offside! Yet the bowlers kept the same line to him all day. Isn't it the coach's job to point these things out?

[The Cadet]

Class isn't permanent, there comes a time when you get to a certain age when your performances start to decline. Every player is different, Pontings slide started 2 years ago. Yes he can still make the odd score and contribute but not to the standard needed at Test level. Why do we need him as captain, it is not as if we are winning. We have gone from 1 to 5 in the past year in the rankings.
Class isn't permanent or Mark Waugh would be still be playing.

[Turbo]

Sacked time to move on. His captaincy has been poor at best for a long time.

[Ruben Carter]

Sacked time to move on. His captaincy has been poor at best for a long time.

Rubbish. As captain he has a great record.
And who is ready to replace him ?..... Clarke ?
You fools don't realise how adored he is in every other country in the world. They'd all love him batting at no. 3 for them and would value all the knowledge, experience and cricket intelligence he brings with him.
What Australia needs is a decent coach and a better talent development and identification system and some supporters who are realistic and more understanding of the big picture.
There were many "wise" minds who also wanted Hussey's head before this series. -" Too old, past his best, yada yada.. "
Where would we be if he hadn't played???????

[The Cadet]

As a captain he has taken us from number 1 on the rankings to 5th. Lost the Ashes 3 times. Puts himself before the team. Why would he bat 3 when he clearly isn't up to facing the new ball anymore, he is to pig headed to drop down the order even when selector Greg Chappell thought it could be a good idea at the start of this Ashes series. Plays Boxing day when he isn't fit to the point where he cant field in the slips, fails twice and injures his finger more. At 36 he's had his time in the sun, time to move on and yet someone else have a crack.

[Dutchy]

He's had 2 years of underperforming not just this series against England. Great players such as M.Waugh, I.Healy and M.Hayden didn't get the chance to go out on there own terms.

Why Ponting Should Retire Or Be Sacked

1. His batting is up to Test standard anymore.
2. His captaincy is poor.
3. He will be 36 years and 7 months old when he plays his next Test.
4. He wont be there for our next Ashes campaign.
5. Australia need to rebuild under a new captain.

1. Matter of opinion, 2nd dig in the 1st test he looked pretty good
2. Laughable, was only 4 years ago he gave us the best result in an Ashes since WW1
3. So what?
4. Why couldnt he be?
5. Who?

You keep avoiding who you would replace him with long term.

He doesnt have the tools, CA havent had a decent succession plan, thats not Ponting's fault

[The Cadet]

He's had 2 years of underperforming not just this series against England. Great players such as M.Waugh, I.Healy and M.Hayden didn't get the chance to go out on there own terms.

Why Ponting Should Retire Or Be Sacked

1. His batting is up to Test standard anymore.
2. His captaincy is poor.
3. He will be 36 years and 7 months old when he plays his next Test.
4. He wont be there for our next Ashes campaign.
5. Australia need to rebuild under a new captain.

1. Matter of opinion, 2nd dig in the 1st test he looked pretty good
2. Laughable, was only 4 years ago he gave us the best result in an Ashes since WW13. So what?
4. Why couldnt he be?
5. Who?

You keep avoiding who you would replace him with long term.

He doesnt have the tools, CA havent had a decent succession plan, thats not Ponting's fault

I could of captained that side to Victory with the likes of Warne, McGrath, Gilchrist in the side. Pontings captain is that poor that Australia can not play a spinner on a regular basis because he dosn't have a clue on how to set a field to them. He persists on only 2 slips with a new ball on most occasions. Keeps batting three even though he isn't up to it anymore. Our last 3 series have been drawn, lost and lost. His body language in Melbourne was of a man who is finished not of our Countrys leader. His dummy spit was similar to the one my 5 year old son did last night when he wouldn't walk when he was out caught behind in the backyard, not a good look from your test captain.
I would replace him with Clarke. Yes his form has been poor in the last 6 tests but he has been groomed for the job for several years and is a class act. He is the right age and I think you will find he will blossom in the job come Monday.

[sherminator]

As a captain he has taken us from number 1 on the rankings to 5th. Lost the Ashes 3 times. Puts himself before the team. Why would he bat 3 when he clearly isn't up to facing the new ball anymore, he is to pig headed to drop down the order even when selector Greg Chappell thought it could be a good idea at the start of this Ashes series. Plays Boxing day when he isn't fit to the point where he cant field in the slips, fails twice and injures his finger more. At 36 he's had his time in the sun, time to move on and yet someone else have a crack.

You cannot say that Ponting is solely responsible for Australia dropping from 1st to 5th. A drop was always going to happen with all the retirements, and as you have said anyone could've captained that former side to victory.

Ponting is selfish for remaining at 3? There are two ways you can look at that. It could be described as 'selfless' too. Going into day 1 in Brissy Clarke, Hussey & North all had form issues whereas Ponting did ok in India. Are you suggesting he should have dropped himself to 5 or 6 and throw other out of form players into the fire at 3 so he could look after his own interests and batting average? That would have been selfish!

I wonder whether you called Steve Waugh selfish too? When Boon retired we had issues at 3 for a few seasons whilst Ponting was still developing. Langer, Elliott, Blewett etc all were given a go and failed yet Waugh (rated the best batsman in the world at the time ) remained safely tucked away at 5 with a 50+ batting average. Selfish or not?

[Ruben Carter]

He's had 2 years of underperforming not just this series against England. Great players such as M.Waugh, I.Healy and M.Hayden didn't get the chance to go out on there own terms.

Why Ponting Should Retire Or Be Sacked

1. His batting is up to Test standard anymore.
2. His captaincy is poor.
3. He will be 36 years and 7 months old when he plays his next Test.
4. He wont be there for our next Ashes campaign.
5. Australia need to rebuild under a new captain.

1. Matter of opinion, 2nd dig in the 1st test he looked pretty good
2. Laughable, was only 4 years ago he gave us the best result in an Ashes since WW13. So what?
4. Why couldnt he be?
5. Who?

You keep avoiding who you would replace him with long term.

He doesnt have the tools, CA havent had a decent succession plan, thats not Ponting's fault

I could of captained that side to Victory with the likes of Warne, McGrath, Gilchrist in the side. Pontings captain is that poor that Australia can not play a spinner on a regular basis because he dosn't have a clue on how to set a field to them. He persists on only 2 slips with a new ball on most occasions. Keeps batting three even though he isn't up to it anymore. Our last 3 series have been drawn, lost and lost. His body language in Melbourne was of a man who is finished not of our Countrys leader. His dummy spit was similar to the one my 5 year old son did last night when he wouldn't walk when he was out caught behind in the backyard, not a good look from your test captain.
I would replace him with Clarke. Yes his form has been poor in the last 6 tests but he has been groomed for the job for several years and is a class act. He is the right age and I think you will find he will blossom in the job come Monday.

You are entitled to an opinion.
Clarke isn't even worthy of selection, let alone Australia's captaincy.
That's my opinion.

[The Cadet]

As a captain he has taken us from number 1 on the rankings to 5th. Lost the Ashes 3 times. Puts himself before the team. Why would he bat 3 when he clearly isn't up to facing the new ball anymore, he is to pig headed to drop down the order even when selector Greg Chappell thought it could be a good idea at the start of this Ashes series. Plays Boxing day when he isn't fit to the point where he cant field in the slips, fails twice and injures his finger more. At 36 he's had his time in the sun, time to move on and yet someone else have a crack.

You cannot say that Ponting is solely responsible for Australia dropping from 1st to 5th. A drop was always going to happen with all the retirements, and as you have said anyone could've captained that former side to victory.

Ponting is selfish for remaining at 3? There are two ways you can look at that. It could be described as 'selfless' too. Going into day 1 in Brissy Clarke, Hussey & North all had form issues whereas Ponting did ok in India. Are you suggesting he should have dropped himself to 5 or 6 and throw other out of form players into the fire at 3 so he could look after his own interests and batting average? That would have been selfish!

I wonder whether you called Steve Waugh selfish too? When Boon retired we had issues at 3 for a few seasons whilst Ponting was still developing. Langer, Elliott, Blewett etc all were given a go and failed yet Waugh (rated the best batsman in the world at the time ) remained safely tucked away at 5 with a 50+ batting average. Selfish or not?

The difference with Waugh was the fact he was making runs at 5. Ponting is not making runs at 3 so the change should of been made. North should of not toured India anyway, Khawja or Ferg should of been blooded at 3 with a view towards the Ashes. When Boon retired Tubby was captain so it was up to him where Waugh batted. By the time Waugh got captaincy he was around age 34 so he thought it was best not to move into the most pivitol position in the team. Waugh did bat 3 against the might of the Windies in the early 90's and made a 100 at the SCG but mainly struggled against them. A number 3 is different to a number 5.

[Adelaide Hawk]

I wonder how some posters would feel if Ponting came to their place of work and demanded their resignations. They'd tell him to get stuffed, and rightly so. Ponting's entitled to make these decisions without advice from the public.

If the selectors don't pick him, fine. If Ponting decides to make himself available for selection, that's his business, and nobody else's. So please let's have a bit less of this "Ponting should retire or be sacked" garbage.

[Turbo]

Sacked time to move on. His captaincy has been poor at best for a long time.

Rubbish. As captain he has a great record.
And who is ready to replace him ?..... Clarke ?
You fools don't realise how adored he is in every other country in the world. They'd all love him batting at no. 3 for them and would value all the knowledge, experience and cricket intelligence he brings with him.
What Australia needs is a decent coach and a better talent development and identification system and some supporters who are realistic and more understanding of the big picture.
There were many "wise" minds who also wanted Hussey's head before this series. -" Too old, past his best, yada yada.. "
Where would we be if he hadn't played???????

He simply inherited a team that was a superb team. Now he hasn't got the likes of warne, lehman, and the like giving him guidance his decision making has gone to shite. No there isn't many other options but it's well over due to give some youngsters a go. They may as well get a younger player
averaging 16 or whatever he is this series. He is a waste of space.

[bayman]

Sacked time to move on. His captaincy has been poor at best for a long time.

ponting imho tactically is ordinary, it hasn't got worse, the fact is he had match winners/gamebreakers ie warne, mcgrath, gilchrist & 2 strong opening batsmen & this is what they haven't got now & why we struggle......as for his batting well that will be up to him or the selectors to decide but i can't see him playing on if he isn't captain but i do agree with dropping him down the order to 5 or 6 & blooding youngsters for the future higher up the order