Who Should Replace Ricky Ponting As Captain?

beamer wrote:

Paul Keating wrote:I think in recent times a player (name eludes me) from outside of the Windies team came in from outside and captained straightaway.

Oh yeah, Floyd Reifer I think, but that was due to a mass player strike leaving them with little option.

Possibly Reifer, but I think Gary got it with Hooper. I am certain he came back into the team as captain straightaway now.

smith also has some pretty talented players in his team...poor Ricky is stuck with too many NSW hacks

Cameron White is not the new messiah. He's just the most sensible option.

Cricket teams do not lead themselves. Strategies do not forumlate themselves. Fields do not set themselves. Bowlers do not change themselves. A captain is required to do these things. A good captain will do these things well. A poor captain will do these things poorly.

All of the captaincy contenders from amongst those already in the team strike me as being poor captains or stop-gaps.

That's unfortunate, but it's reality. Cameron White has a proven record at first-class level as a good leader of men with a fine cricket brain. I don't know if he's as good a captain as a Brearley, Fleming or Taylor, but he's the best leader in the country.

Far from being a radical suggestion, making White captain is the least risky option. At least we'd have a leader - and that's the first step to moulding a successful team.

After five years of Ponting, I'm hoping the selectors have realised the importance of having a competent skipper.

I'm not convinced White is good enough with the bat to play for Australia at test level. And no matter how good a captain is, he wont get too many wins if he doesn't have some decent players in his side.

Besides, it's always been the Aussie way to pick the 11 best players and then name the captain, isn't it? White isn't one of the best six batsmen in Australia.

Hussey or Katich would be ideal as captain in the short term. In another year perhaps someone will have matured enough to be considered captaincy material. Perhaps Cameron White will have plundered enough runs in domestic cricket to be selected for his batting alone, or perhaps Clarke will have toughened up and be able to step up to the plate.

It should be noted that Greg Chappell (Who will surely be appointed Australia's Chairman of Selectors in about a month's time) said a couple of weeks ago that Michael Clarke is not yet ready to captain Australia.

For those mention SHYTE as a test player, not to mention as (c)

could say the same about the distempered pup

Clarke will get the job as captain but the dissent is because nobody really likes him. This dissatisfaction with him from the public started well before the Ashes failure. Clarke wasn't in great form a couple of months ago but he hadn't reached a crisis stage like he has now, and yet even back then the News and Fairfax surveys both indicated that less than a quarter of respondents wanted him as the next captain while YT was a very clear favourite among the voters in both polls. YT didn't have a majority vote, sure, but that so many people were wanting him to lead a Test team that he hasn't even played in for over two years is pretty damning on how Clarke is perceived by the Australian public.

Henry wrote:I
It should be noted that Greg Chappell (Who will surely be appointed Australia's Chairman of Selectors in about a month's time) said a couple of weeks ago that Michael Clarke is not yet ready to captain Australia.

and then doubled back and claimed "taken out of context"

Paul Keating wrote:

beamer wrote:

Paul Keating wrote:I think in recent times a player (name eludes me) from outside of the Windies team came in from outside and captained straightaway.

Oh yeah, Floyd Reifer I think, but that was due to a mass player strike leaving them with little option.

Possibly Reifer, but I think Gary got it with Hooper. I am certain he came back into the team as captain straightaway now.

There was also Lee Germon for the Snoozies.

In terms of seniority, experience, form and no other logical choice - Hussey. Clarke is currently more crap than Punter. Punter should stay on as a batsman if the trend of sacked captains —> retired syndrome doesn't claim him.

JGK wrote:
There was also Lee Germon for the Snoozies.

haven't heard his name for a long time!

There's a good reason for that Nath.

Why is'nt Paine an option ?
They obviously made him captain of the PM's side for a reason.

they said on the radio news bulletin, according to some survey, the preferred captain was Katich not Clarke.

Kat when fit has been reasonably good in his leadership of the mighty Spivs, seems more suited to a captaincy role then Clarke who has his own issues to sort out atm.

'some survey' was the one conducted in Sydney's small paper for stupid people. No surprise that they nominated Katich.

So what's the deal with Michael Clarke? Seems to have been groomed for the job for years, but it's all gone pear-shaped along the way??

Welcome back, Davey.

Clarke was tagged FAC before he'd played a Test. Indeed before Drunky had the top job. And for some reason, the party line in the press, and inside CA has been to go along with that as the plan. Despite the multiple issues the guy seems to have.

Some people say too much has been invested in Clarke to go to someone else now. Which is a load of bollock. The last captaincy appointment was flawed, the mistake should not be repeated. If two wrongs don't make a right, two complete c*ck-ups do not make a way forward.

Zat wrote:'some survey' was the one conducted in Sydney's small paper for stupid people. No surprise that they nominated Katich.

that's what I thought, must be a Sydney paper.

Team to be named today apparently.

Davey wrote:So what's the deal with Michael Clarke? Seems to have been groomed for the job for years, but it's all gone pear-shaped along the way??

Given his batting slump, and not a guarenteed starter I can't see how Clarke could be guiven the captaincy, unless the NSP are to stubborn to admit they were wrong.
Also his on field demeanour is not the type that paints a positive image.

Zat:

What are the big issues that have arisen with Clarke?

From the outside looking in, it seems extraordinary that this poll shows that by far the preferred option to be captain of Australia is a bloke who has played 4 Tests and didn't even make the 17 man squad named at the start of the series! Although as an Englishman there is a perverse pleasure to it all......

Blackadder wrote:I can't see how Clarke could be guiven the captaincy, unless the NSP are to stubborn to admit they were wrong.

In that case, it is imperative that Ponting stays on until Hilditch's term is up. Or we'll all beef hooked.