US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said at the end of 2008 that history will look kindly on President George W. Bush. At present no one looks kindly on George W. Bush, not even a pair of shoes.
History will look kindly on Ricky Ponting. But at present a flying pair of shoes would be welcome relief from the barrage of flak he has received. Undoubtedly he would deal with a pair of size ten’s better than the questions from the Australian cricketing public. He would rock onto the back foot and swat them forward of square with his 2’10oz Kahuna.
If only captaincy were that simple.
But herein lies the problem for Ponting. His predecessors were under pressure at different stages for different reasons. Mark Taylor, renown as a master tactician, could not buy a run for nearly 18 months between the start of 1996 and the middle of 1997. 129 in the second innings of a test loss at Edgbaston saw all forgiven and forgotten.
Likewise, Steve Waugh battled personal batting demons during 2002-3. His twin brother was cast to the retirement lounge for equally poor form and Waugh was on his last legs arriving in Sydney for the New Year’s Ashes test in 2003. He delivered the “Perfect day” hundred. His side suffered its worst test loss on home soil in a decade, but all was forgiven and forgotten.
Ponting’s case is somehow different. His batting record as captain is phenomenal. As skipper he has scored just under half of his 10697 test runs at an average 58.74. 17 of his 37 test hundreds are captain’s knocks. In Melbourne last week he was just one run shy of becoming the first man in history to score a century in each innings of four test matches. All four he was present at the coin toss. These are mountainous figures given minuscule credit.
No one has ever questioned Ponting’s ability with the blade, but at every chance they slay his captaincy record. 2005 was a perfect example. His record at the end of September that year was superior to every Australian captain bar Warwick Armstrong. He had lost just three test matches. One by 13 runs, one by two runs, and one by three wickets.
Unfortunately, the last two losses came in the one series. The 2005 Ashes was his shame de grace. He was the first Australian captain since Allan Border in 1985 to hand back the urn.
Ponting was blasted for his leadership during that torrid tour. He was slated for his decision to bowl at Edgbaston. Never mind the spate of no-balls from his bowlers, and the failure of his batsmen to find the meager three runs needed to win the test match. The loss rested wholly and solely on his shoulders.
Ponting played one of the great test match innings to force a draw at Old Trafford, whilst the rest of his side failed him dismally. Praise for his phenomenal 156 was scarce.
The loss at Trent Bridge saw Ponting plagued by ill-fortune. His exit following Gary Pratt’s controversial direct hit in Australia’s second innings saw Ponting produce an in-defensible outburst. Although it could not be condoned his frustration was understandable given Damien Martyn’s stupidity and Duncan Fletcher’s smirk. Aleem Dar did not help Ponting’s cause, when the Pakistani adjudicator ended Simon Katich’s test match incorrectly. Australia fell 30 or 40 runs short of a winning total given Shane Warne’s heroics in the fourth innings with the ball.
Ponting was pilloried for handing back the Ashes at the Oval. Despite Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer’s baffling decision to accept bad light at tea on day two, and Kevin Pietersen making 158 after being grassed twice before reaching 15, blood was on the skipper’s hands.
Taylor and Waugh never lost a series in England. However Taylor and Waugh never led an Australian XI in England without the presence of Glenn McGrath, who possesses 87 test scalps at 19.34 in the UK.
Ponting had done it twice in one series. They lost both test matches.
Ponting’s response was a win over the World XI, and a three-nil whitewash of the West Indies at home. But the sharks were again circling following a draw in the first test against South Africa. According to most he had put the individual ahead of the team by allowing Brad Hodge to reach his double century and setting South Africa 491 in 126 overs instead of 450 in 145 overs.
He responded to these absurd claims by leading his team to 16 consecutive test match victories, equalling the world record set by Steve Waugh’s side of 1999-01.
Ponting’s batting throughout this period was par-excellence. In the first four test matches of this streak, against the world’s second-ranked side South Africa, he posted five match winning centuries. It was no surprise that at every key juncture in the rest of the streak Ponting led with his blade. Highlights were his 118no in a fourth innings chase of 307 in Fatulla, 196 in the first innings of the 2006-7 Ashes, as well as 142 in the second test in Adelaide which laid the platform for an extraordinary win after conceding 551 in the first innings.
In the 16th test of the streak Ponting threw the ball to Michael Clarke as a last gasp attempt at victory. Clarke took three wickets in an over. Had Mark Taylor been skipper it would’ve been a masterstroke, given it was Ponting it was a stroke of luck.
Nonetheless he had equalled Steve Waugh’s record. Was he lavished with praise? Far from it. He was labelled a pariah. The press portrayed him as the ruthless, unsporting leader of a pack of “ugly”, “arrogant” Australian winners.
Again the press called for his head. It wouldn’t have happened under Taylor or Waugh, they said. How short were their memories? Steve Waugh was the skipper during some of the ugliest on field incidents in modern cricket, from Michael Slater's outburst in India 2001, through Langer’s abuse of Michael Vaughan in Adelaide 2002, to McGrath’s explosion in the West Indies in 2003, Waugh’s men were hardly saints. Nor were Taylor’s. Sri Lanka refused to shake Taylor’s hand after the infamous 1995-6 Benson and Hedges one-day series in Australia, and he had hardly contained Shane Warne’s abuse of numerous players in the mid 90s.
If at the height of his powers as skipper Ponting was so unpopular, what would happen when his side fell from its perch? We’ve seen the results this summer.
He lost two-nil in India. His leadership was questioned once more. Taylor lost twice in India, and Steve Waugh lost the un-losable series in 2001. Both captained against lesser Indian sides than the present, with greater Australian sides than the current.
Now Ponting has presided over the first home series defeat since 1992-3. Again he has been battered. When someone points to his captaincy record the immediate response features McGrath and Warne as the sole reasons.
Had Steve Waugh and Simon Katich not combined for 142 in the fourth innings in Sydney against India in 2004, Waugh may well be holding the dubious honour of leading Australia to defeat at home for the first time during its reign at the top of world cricket. Surprise, surprise that summer also took place in the absence of Warne and McGrath.
Ponting is not the master tactician. A lack of ability to think on his feet during times of crisis supports this claim. Very rarely is there a plan B. Auto-pilot for an emergency is set to defence and nothing else. In England 2005 this was particularly evident. In India 2008 his decision-making was baffling. He had shirked authorities earlier in his career but he adhered to them with a win insight in Nagpur, electing to rectify the over–rate rather than step on India’s throat. Likewise his lack of imagination in Melbourne just recently when things were going awry fed his detractors with more ammunition.
Nor is he a great diplomat. His petulant behavior with the press after losses in England, India, and twice in Perth in 2008, give that statement great credence.
But there’s a fine line between success and failure. Had his top order not played so poorly in both matches and had he held a catch he would normally swallow in Melbourne the series may still be alive.
It is neat for the press sometimes. Wins are the result of the sum of all parts. Losses are hung around the individuals head, more often than not the captain’s.
Ponting has suffered this fate. There are two things to consider when summarising Ponting’s leadership. Firstly, the selectors have handed Ponting 14 different teams in 14 consecutive test matches. Taylor and Waugh never presided over such instability.
Secondly, imagine if Ponting, like Taylor, had gone 21 test innings without a half-century in an 18 month period during his captaincy. Or imagine if he’d batted at five instead of three like Steve Waugh had. Would Australia have won 16 test matches in a row?
To fall from grace so hard you must first begin at a great height. Ponting as a captain may not have the tactical nous of Taylor or the icy cool resolve of Waugh, but he has led his side by example with batting that has been unrivalled.
That can never be underestimated. His sphere of influence on Australia’s greatest era should never be undervalued.
Everything bar the shoes has been thrown at him just recently. But remove him and what do you have?
A very large pair of shoes to fill.
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