Punter And Retirement

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Beeswax

Beeswax

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He is looking old and slow in this tournament with the bat in hand, much as he did in the Ashes. He can't field in slip due to injuries and he hasn't completed a run-out since I can't remember when.

As a skipper, the main thing he has offered is leading with the bat, but he is not doing that now. He hasn't done that at test level for a couple of years at least as shown by his stats. His captaincy is reactive, he is not a natural tactical skipper, he doesn't have the instincts. I am trying to work out what he actually offers if he isn't scoring runs apart from not being Michael Clarke (who I think has a bit more about him, at least for ODI's, as a skipper).

Does anyone in CA have the balls to tap him on the shoulder? He appears to believe it's up to him to decide how long he plays for in test cricket and ODI's and if that genuinely is the case, he will be going to the Ashes in 2013.
 
Punter is past it. I made this point during the ashes as did many others. He has lost his edge altogether.

I do how ever defend his record as captain, he did increase the win loss ratio for Australia as captain until all the retirements happened. His record to that point was better than Steve Waugh's. I don't argue the success of Steve Waugh, it's just i couldn't stand him. His style was autocratic and he clearly played pet's during a time of such incredible depth in Australian cricket.

I believe that no one is in a hurry to push Punter because they are cornered to take Pup as the next captain and they all know this will be a divisive struggle for the team over the next few years. I think they were hoping Cameron White would really step up and they could give him the ODI job and Punter would hold in with tests for another couple of seasons till a new man could be found.

I also agree with Punter that Australian batsman have lost their technique. Too much focus on slap bang boom for T20 and ODI fame. I heard a comment that the shield was better when the top players still played in it. What rubbish, the last time our national players played a lot of shield was in the early to mid eights and we were very ordinary at the time. I see the problem more around the professional era and to many older players hanging on for the money. When the big retirements happened all we had to choose from were has been's or kid's with no experience who think they have to score at a run a ball all the time.
 
I just love his leadership quality,like most Australian captains, carry this blend of greatness and failure. Hope so Ricky Ponting is not retiring from international cricket after the World Cup.
 
nairbe said:
don't know why, you really should take a careful look at yourselves. If English cricket stays true to form it is down hill for 20 years from here.
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They're poised for a massive re-shuffle according to one of our better papers which'll be interesting, you might be right. So with both teams potentially in decline the Ashes should still maintain it's potential for a good competition.
 
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