Late nomination for the 2007 Neil Harvey Award

by embee Mon 10 Dec 2007, 03:21

Cricket great says game in 'worst shape for 50 years'Article from: Font size: Decrease Increase Email article: Email Print article: Print Submit comment: Submit comment Jon Pierik

December 10, 2007 07:00am
AUSTRALIAN cricket great Bob Simpson has slammed the standard of international cricket, claiming it is in the worst shape of his 50 years in the sport.

As cricket deals with major upheaval on and off the field, Simpson, the former Australian captain and coach, suggested poor coaching was to blame.

"There is no doubt in my mind that the quality and standard of world cricket now is the lowest that I have seen in my over 50 years of first-class cricket," he said. "The reasons are numerous."

This is a major - and debatable - call by Simpson, 71, who began his first-class career for New South Wales in 1952-53.

The current generation features the likes of all-time greats Ricky Ponting, Jacques Kallis and Sachin Tendulkar, but Simpson's argument does have merit because Test nations Bangladesh, West Indies and New Zealand are some of the weakest ever seen.

"World cricket has its problems. Its quality and standard is slipping so badly that it is in dire need of coaching," Simpson said.

The former opener has a long and decorated history in the game.

He played 52 Tests between 1957 and '68 before emerging from retirement and captaining the official Australian side in 10 Tests in 1977-78 during the World Series revolution.

As Australian coach for a decade from the dark days of the mid-1980s, he played a key role in turning the Aussies into the No. 1 nation in 1995.

Australia have remained there ever since, and their crushing series victory over Sri Lanka last month sparked concerns the rest of the world would never catch up, even though legends Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath have retired.

They are now just two wins away from equalling a record of 16 straight Test victories Steve Waugh's team set in 2000-01.

In a bid to counter Australia's dominance, former coach John Buchanan last month made the radical suggestion that rival Test nations be allowed to pinch promising young Australian talent who would be allowed to play for an adopted nation.

But Simpson, writing in an Indian sports magazine, claimed Buchanan must have a "very short memory".

"The basis of John Buchanan's reasoning is that since Australia are very strong at present, the players left out of the national team should be allowed to play for another country," he said.

"But somewhere along the line, John's thinking has clouded his judgment, thanks to the success of the Australian team.

"He must have a very short memory for it wasn't very long ago, the mid-1980s to be precise, that Australia were second-last in the international rankings.

"It took 10 years for Australia to regroup and finally beat the then premier team, the West Indies, in the Caribbean Islands in 1995."

Rival nations have looked to tap into Australia's success by signing their former stars as coaches.

Geoff Lawson (Pakistan), John Dyson (West Indies) and Jamie Siddons (Bangladesh) are currently abroad, and have followed the likes of Greg Chappell, Tom Moody, Dav Whatmore and Steve Rixon.

Simpson is concerned opponents could now lose the natural flair which made their cricket so attractive to spectators.

"The tragedy for world cricket would be for all the countries to adopt Australia's coaching methods and philosophy," he said.

"Sure, there is much good in Australian coaching, but I don't want to see other teams as clones of Australian cricket.

"The beauty of world cricket has always been the contrasting styles and flavours of the various cricketing nations.

"Right now, unfortunately, much of that traditional charm and character is fast disappearing from the stage of world cricket."

The Daily Telegraph

by Mick Sawyer Mon 10 Dec 2007, 03:25

Read the atricle on their website and banged off the comment:

"Neil Harvey not available boys?"

by horace Mon 10 Dec 2007, 03:29

test cricket is the richer for simmo's absence

by Fred Nerk Mon 10 Dec 2007, 03:32

Doubtless Chappelli will also have thrown his oar in by the 6 o'clock news....

by skully Mon 10 Dec 2007, 03:33

horace wrote:test cricket is the richer for simmo's absence

Aye. His whole mantra of "I was the best thing that ever happened to Aus cricket in the 80s, and am solely responsible for Australia's rise to power" has become tedious in the extreme.

Which makes this whole whinge a bit ironic.