The first rule of leadership: ITS ALWAYS YOUR FAULT

Ricky Ponting has to lift his leadership and he has to start with letting go over the substitutes drama. I recommend that he watch “A Bug’s Life” (Disney, 1998). Any four year old who has watched “A Bugs Life” animation knows the first rule of leadership: It’s always your fault. Here’s a hint Ricky: Listen very carefully to Hopper.

It’s quite simple: If you take a short single and the fielder hits the stumps, you are going to be out. Blame your partner for the bad call if you must. Blame yourself – you said “yes”. Look no further. Australia has suffered at least three costly run outs in this series but I tell you, if the English had hit the stumps every time, that number would be at least 15. That’s no exaggeration – the Australian running has been a good barometer of the state of mind of the team.

Ricky needs to look for the answers within the team. They can’t control how good the reverse swing is, the umpires decisions or England taking advantage of the substitutes rule but they can stop themselves being run out. They can start taking their catches and they can stop bowling criminal numbers of no balls.

And they can stop persisting for too long with out of form players.

Less Zen. More Drills.

Australian coach John Buchanan is often described in terms such as someone who can “think outside the square”. He is an incisive and decisive thinker, a supreme analyst and a master of psychology, philosophy and mind games. He has introduced concepts to the Australian team such as arriving at the ground first and “claiming ownership of the ground”. Well, that’s all well and good but is he paying the basics enough respect?

I was troubled in about March, when in New Zealand, Buck told the media that the Australian team simply did not have the time for as many fielding drills as in the past. With the amount of cricket and travelling, there simply was not enough time. I nearly gagged on my Weeties as I read that over breakfast. This comment was made at a time when there seemed to be a few short comings in the Australian fielding.

The place where a side’s fielding is really tested is behind the stumps. The wicket keeper and the slips. The fact is that some are better slippers than others. I don’t think it is possible to have a better trio than Healy, Taylor and Junior Waugh. Perhaps there have been some who were as good but I don’t think better. All three were the very top of the tree. Since the gradual departure of those gentlemen, the standard has certainly fallen. My thinking is that if there is less natural ability in a certain area, then more work needs to be done.

Healy himself recently made the point that Australia has been able to “wear” dropped chances simply because they often are not costly. This is because of the calibre of the bowling arsenal. If Gillie drops one, not to worry, Pigeon will probably knock over the castle next ball. (Let’s hope it’s not a no ball.) As old legs weary and more particularly, against top quality opposition, dropped catches are going to count, and Australia paid dearly in the 3rd Test.

I’m not the biggest Bob Simpson fan in the world but right about now I have fond memories of images of Simmo with his baseball glove on and 20-30 old balls gathered around him. And a ring of Aussie players waiting for their name to be called and to catch/fetch and return. Allan Border, in the ABC production “Cricket in the 80’s – Rookies, Rebels and Renaissance” is very clear that when Australian cricket was at its lowest in 1986, Simmo played a big part in turning it around with attention to fielding and fitness. Border said that the team was not even getting the basics right. Getting the basics right provided a good platform to build on.

I wonder if just as getting the basics right contributed to the rise of Australia’s star, whether neglect of the basics will contribute to the fall of champions.