Ponting may be facing reality. Hilditch is still deluded.

He is desperate to retain the leadership but agreed to play as a specialist batsman if Michael Clarke, the vice-captain, is given the reins. ''If that's the way I, or others, think is the right way to go, there's absolutely no reason why that couldn't happen,'' he said. ''Those are the things that need to be thought about. But I still think I have a lot to add to the team as a batsman and a leader. If it ends up getting to the point where I'm not the captain, my hunger and determination, like I said, to play this game is as strong as ever.''

Ponting, whose leadership will be part of a Cricket Australia review, took personal responsibility for the defeat. ''Absolutely, the buck stops with me,'' he said. ''It's my job as captain of the side to get the best possible performances out of my players, every single minute of every single day that we play. As the leader of the side, it's your responsibility to achieve results.''

"I still think I've got a lot to offer the team as a batsman and captain and leader,'' Ponting said.

"If that's with a 'c' next to my name well and good, if not, I still think I've got a lot to offer, particularly to the younger guys who are in and around our set-up. I'm not immune to anything, criticism, I'm trying to do the best possible job I can and at the moment I feel I'm the best person to take this team forward.

"If it ever gets to the stage if I think I'm not ... can I play without being captain, absolutely.

"As far as the selection processes are concerned we had a really good Ashes, generally speaking,'' Hilditch said yesterday..."If you ask me, the future is pretty exciting,'' Hilditch said. "It is a great time to be doing what I am doing. It is a very challenging time, a lot of fun, a lot of hard work.''

Zat wrote:

But Hilditch isn't anywhere near as realistic. Also in the Daily Telegraph...

"As far as the selection processes are concerned we had a really good Ashes, generally speaking,'' Hilditch said yesterday..."If you ask me, the future is pretty exciting,'' Hilditch said. "It is a great time to be doing what I am doing. It is a very challenging time, a lot of fun, a lot of hard work.''

Zat wrote:It shows that he may have a better understanding of things than a lot of other people. There are plenty of people who say that because Australian captains have traditionally retired from the game and the team that that's the way it will be in the future. It doesn't have to be that way.

vilkrang wrote:

Zat wrote:It shows that he may have a better understanding of things than a lot of other people. There are plenty of people who say that because Australian captains have traditionally retired from the game and the team that that's the way it will be in the future. It doesn't have to be that way.

So it shouldn't. Dropping an ATG batsman just because you need a captain is f*cking ludicrious. If he was 38 then it would be understandable but he still has a good few years as a top class batsman.

Despite what a lot of poms are saying, I wouldn't want him here in 2013 as a batsman.

Zat wrote:That's because we do bring up our own juniors and don't rely on some sort of reverse-diaspora.

JKLever wrote:

Zat wrote:That's because we do bring up our own juniors and don't rely on some sort of reverse-diaspora.

I can't argue our system doesn't suck balls. Anything we achieve is definitely despite it, rather than because of it....

Andrew Hilditch's future with Cricket Australia (CA) could be determined next month, with moves afoot to create a position for a full-time selector on the national panel. Hilditch, who runs a law firm in Adelaide in addition to his role as chairman of selectors, is tipped to relinquish his cricketing duties if his role is upgraded to full-time. However, CA is also considering the possibility of employing one of the remaining three selectors in a permanent capacity; a move that would allow Hilditch to continue to chair the panel part-time.

Rumours are already circulating that Hilditch and one other selector will stand down from their posts in the coming months,

Zat wrote:

Rumours are already circulating that Hilditch and one other selector will stand down from their posts in the coming months,

says the article Zimi quoted. Which other one?

Henry wrote:Ooh. 10,000 posts. Can't believe I wasted my 10,000th talking about Merv f*cking Hughes. Ah well......

horace wrote:give TGM $5M pa as fulltime selector (with leave for poker engagements)