Monday, December 22, 2008

Take your Punt

About a month back I wrote about the downfall of the big 3 and the reaction to that was unanimous.

Everyone thought that Ponting would bounce back soon and that it was pretty much over for Dravid and Kallis.

A month since that post and Dravid has ended his 20-innings-without-a-century drought, while Kallis has scored a 63 and a 57 in a historic test win for South Arica.

And Ponting?

A first ball duck, a scratchy 30 odd, and captaining a side that conceded the 2nd largest run chase in the history of cricket.

Not looking good for him.

He's not alone in that sinking ship though.

Jrod tells me that Hussey is averaging 33 in his last 12 tests. 33! Thats like half his career average.

Hayden has a sorry tale to tell as well.

As does Lee.

So where do these Aussies go from here?

The way Ponting goes?

As long as Ponting was successful and the leading batsman in the world, Australia were dominating all teams.

With Ponting's recent failures, Australia's status has also been on the decline.

Everyone talks about the lack of a McGrath and a Warne, but is there more to it?

Is the team as good as the captain or the captain as good as the team?

If Ponting is able to come back to his form of old, will the Aussies dominate again?

Take your punt.

Make your pitch on this post...



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6 Pitched:

  1. Poshin_david said...
     

    Kallis and rahul are class players and gud to be in form but Punter?

    Matty, punter, and Binga(Wat a name 4 lee!!!!!) are declining with the team and adding injury upon injury. quoting Frank Tyson, “So the Australian World Champs are dead - Long live the New Indian World Champs” and me,
    The greatest empire Rome fell and now the cricketing empire imagined by Allan Border, forged by Mark Taylor and defended by Steve Waugh is falling and crumbling too fast. Faster than the current economies of the world."
    No way
    Merry X-mas
    Cheers

  2. Anonymous said...
     

    Q, i said this in Jrods blog- Ponting is just going thro his first bad patch after 2001. He'll be back and when he is in form, he will cash. In the last two years, Sachin missed 6-9 hundreds, getting out in 90's. You think Ponting will do that? No way, once he gets to 40 in any innings, he is almost sure to score a century.

  3. Q said...
     

    Christoper, I wouldn't say "defended" by Steve Waugh.. I think he took the team to as whole new level that Border and Taylor couldn't achieve..

    As for Ponting, definitely not as captain but as batsman he has been one of the best...

    South Africa could chasllenge India to that throne..

  4. Q said...
     

    Raj, I do agree with u.. Ponting should be back to form soon.. and ur right, he will probably surpass Sachin as the highest run getter..

    My question though is that will Australia's fortunes change with Ponting's return to form?

  5. Anonymous said...
     

    Q, Ponting is back. I predict that Ponting will overtake Sachin soon. Maybe even while Sachin is playing. Earlier I thought Sachin will retire with the records and then Ponting will break them but now it looks like things will happen sooner than later. What is inevitable though is that Ponting will end up with 14000+ test runs and 45+ test centuries. And surely more than Sachin in either category.

  6. Q said...
     

    he sure is Raj.. ive also said for a long time that Ponting will end up as the highest run scorer..

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