Ponting's captaincy

Over on the SA forum there's a Aussie claiming most Aussies think Drunky is a good captain.

Comments?

They are obviously talking about another Drunky or another game altogether.

Some Aussies don't rate him Taips. Jeff Thomson etc have been very vocal in bagging him. Most Aussies think he is a good captain but no as good as Taylor or Waugh. He is not as cunning as Warne who most agree would have been a good captain except for his nocturnal activities.

taipan wrote:Some Aussies don't rate him Taips. Jeff Thomson etc have been very vocal in bagging him. Most Aussies think he is a good captain but no as good as Taylor or Waugh. He is not as cunning as Warne who most agree would have been a good captain except for his nocturnal activities.

Is the poster "MrsP" by any chance?

No, it's a guy who is usually pretty accurate so surprised me a bit.

The debate continues:

He is a humourless little prick and has followed the much loved Tubby Taylor and much admired Tugger Waugh so I suspect this hurts his cause. I don't think he is a great captain but is far from the worst international captain.

Braddles?

[b]is far from the worst international captain.

[/b]


You should ask the poster for his worst to best ranking.

Okay

I've loathed Ponting as a captain almost from the start, but he does seem to have a lot of support in Australia. When I've read online newspaper articles in which he has been criticised, I've been surprised at how much support he gets in the comments section - it seems that a lot of ppl think he is a hero.

When I first joined up here, I was expecting to wade through a lot of Ponting hero worship, so I was pleasantly surprised to see the anti-Ponting sentiments.

Because I've loathed him so much as a captain, I've always hoped every failure of his would be the start of a form slump but I've softened my attitude a bit lately - mainly because he is just to enjoyable to watch when he bats.

That's odd. I always assumed that the Aussie view here would be pretty representative. I can't recall anyone having a good word to say about his captaincy.

taipan wrote:That's odd. I always assumed that the Aussie view here would be pretty representative. I can't recall anyone having a good word to say about his captaincy.

Me either - on the forum or otherwise.

Here is what the Sydney Morning Herald site had on him after the Ashes:

He's going to find it hard EVER to live down being the one modern day captain to lose two successive Ashes series in England. And that followed last summer's first series loss in seventeen years on Aussie soil and the only time ever Australia has lost to SA in Australia.

No offence but without this sooking qunt, Australia would be up a certain creek without a particular paddle.



Granted, not the best captain. Steven Waugh on the other hand....yes, he was a real captain...

Red wrote:He's going to find it hard EVER to live down being the one modern day captain to lose two successive Ashes series in England. And that followed last summer's first series loss in seventeen years on Aussie soil and the only time ever Australia has lost to SA in Australia.

I am no fan of Ponting's captaincy, but I think the "one modern day captain to lose two successive Ashes series in England" isn't a particularly damning charge.

Firstly, Allan Border lost two Ashes series in a row - one in England and the other in Australia. That's worse than losing two series away from home.

Secondly, how many captains have been around long enough to lead Australia on two Ashes tours? Not many. Before Border you had Ian Chappell, Don Bradman, Bill Woodfull, Joe Darling and Billy Murdoch.

And none of those captains ever won an Ashes series 5-0.

This doesn't mean Ponting's in the clear, it's just that some of these "first captain since x to lose x in x" stats mean about as much as Murali's average against Bangladesh.

I think Ponting will be forgiven his Captaincy for his years of magnificent batting and his superb fielding. He's an Aussie legend. He's already the Captain who had the misfortune of leading a side immediately after its worldbeaters had retired, so there may be sympathy in years to come.

Ppl who write on forums 'most Australians think' sound a bit dodge.

Have I mentioned I love you smerky?? (although I don't think P's any more of a sooking q than plenty of others around the cricketing world.)