This week we have had to suffer through two examples of tabloid journalism meeting cricket-news and turning the thing into a circus. I would happily ignore it if it weren't for the important cricket events taking place that demand our sports-follower attention instead of whether a player lost a cricket match and the semi-retirement of another.
First I will look at the admission by Ricky Ponting that he will not be selected for One-Day cricket matches in the future. This is a fair call and should have been made by him before now, not because, as is the case right now, he is out of form but because he will be 40 come the next World Cup and to keep him around any longer would be counter productive to building a team to challenge India in 2015 (although given the way the World 'Champions' played in Australia this summer, it won't be difficult). Ricky Ponting has been, along side comrades Hayden and Gilchrist, at the forefront of the most dominant ODI team in history that won 3 consecutive World Cups - one of which he set up the victory for with a massive final-century in 2003. He also brought Australia back from the brink in the tri-series finals against Sri Lanka here. His legacy in this form is secure.
What surprised me about the coverage of this natural passing of the guard was the media-wide speculation over whether Ponting was due to retire from test cricket! In the past I would have guessed that this simply betrays a lack of cricket knowledge on their parts; he just scored a double century against India and has the Ashes to aim for in 2013, what in Ponting's career would suggest he would retire under these circumstances? In the recent series Ponting seems to have finally learnt how to bat in his later years, the same lesson that the likes of Lara, Hobbs, Hutton, Hammond and even Bradman learnt. What I realised is that this is just tabloid rubbish to keep the news cycle going: you report the upcoming news conference, ask the stupid question that no serious cricketer was thinking, trump up some idiot like Lawson to be on your side and then act so surprised when Ponting doesn't retire (or go to the lengths that the Dominion post did and suggest that he is 'clinging' to his test career). The whole thing was a non event and Australian cricketers and fans would be better served by talking about why Warner has struggled in the ODI series or whether they have solved their spin-bowling issues in Doherty and Lyon.
In New Zealand we have a similar problem with the blaming of Jesse Ryder for the embarrassing loss to South Africa at Eden Park the other evening. The late order collapse and eventual loss was the worst I have seen in recent times and I now begin to wonder if Mark Richardson's Commentator-Curse skills have reached such a height that he can simply commentate normally and achieve destruction - subliminal cursing perhaps? I realise this sounds absurd and it is meant to, just as absurd as the loss but also the criticism aimed squarely at Ryder. Craig McMillan, now to be taken as a journalist and not a former player in my opinion (and therefore judged on those grounds) decided overnight that Ryder was at fault, completely ignoring the panicked fashion in which his lower order batted after him or the lazy dismissals of the top order (and the resulting wobble that Ryder's initial batting saved us from). Ryder's awful batting on 49 was regrettable but a loss that embarrassing is not conjured by one man. McMillan's is poor analysis from a poor commentator - I suppose if you can't criticise his weight it has to be his dithering over one run? Hypocritical from a player that was accused of both throughout his playing career and if that feels like a cheap shot on my behalf - that's because it is! How does it feel Craig?
Personally I am not surprised that Ryder hit such a road block at 49, he hasn't played in international colours since before Christmas and before he knew it he was facing a half-century on return. In retrospect the loss is more laughable than dooming and I would advise my friends to get a grip, it is 2020 cricket and there are more important forms of the game to consider going forward. Masters Smith, Steyn and Kallis will be playing from here on in and this should be of greater concern. These three will prove a real challenge to the Black Caps as they top the list in their respective fields of excellence. I think it wise, while not to get to depressed over the 2020 loss, to take two important points from the match in Auckland:
- First is that the Cricketboks (box?) are deserving of their high rating in world cricket, they turned that match to their advantage as soon as we gave them half a chance and we cannot afford to be that charitable again.
- Second, the Black Caps came back impressively from Hamilton to contain and frustrate the South African batting line up. This attitude and ability will be crucial for the rest of the series and a similar intensity will be required to compete against some of the toughest cricketers in the world.
The last point is what gives me hope for the remaining six matches, rather than the cynicism born by the scape-goating which the media circus would have us concentrate on instead
Well that's it from here and I hope you join me again
It's good bye for now
