Molesworth, I really have no answer as to Gillespies lack of form in that series- it really amazed me that he virtually had nothing. However, that had been exposed in the lead up games and Ponting would have been aware of that. (Well, he would have seen it).
And without trying to put any heat into this arguement, could people please read my posts instead of trying to read my mind? I have never stated anything about Mitchell Johnson because I always had doubts - he was erratic and although he won tests he also caused Australia to not win some.
Ponting won initial Tests because he had the luxury of a great team and great players and backed by his own superb batting. However he always seemed more reactive than innovative as a captain ( to me).
I wasn’t intending to put any heat into the argument, either, Cicero.
It just seems logical to me that if one gives no credit to Ponting for the way that some great bowlers performed well under his leadership, then one should also not pass blame on Ponting for the way that some lesser bowlers performed badly under that same leadership. It’s ultimately down to the bowler to bring his A-game and not let his team down.
That’s why I brought up Mitchell Johnson, who performed both wonderfully and woefully under Ponting’s leadership.
By the same token, I don’t blame Clarke for the 47 all out in South Africa, his batsmen let him down.
Yes, Ponting was lucky to have some all-time greats at his disposal during the early part of his reign. But I sure as hell don’t blame him for the tripe that the Aussie bowlers dished up during the last Ashes series. England scoring 1/517 in the First Test at Brisbane was in no way the fault of the guy who was merely setting the field. It was the fault of the bowlers, who quite simply didn’t show up ready to play.
I don’t blame Lara for the decline of the Windies, either. Lloyd, Richards, and Richardson had some really fantastic bowlers. Lara didn’t.
^
I disagree. Lara has Walsh and Ambrose at least during his first reign.
Re Ponting. Its a Captain’s duty to win and Ponting won most of the time. He might not have been an Imran Khan or a Clive Lloyd or a Steven Waugh, but as Pakistan show every year, poor Captaincy can ruin any team and Australia were certainly not ruined.