Former Test heroes Greg Chappell and Ricky Ponting both took turns criticising the state of Australian cricket after the most recent Ashes outcome, with Chappell saying fans may not see a noticeable improvement for the current Test for a further two years.
Chappell compared Australia’s current situation to that of the Australian Test sides of the mid 80’s, saying a rebuild is already in progress.
“I’m sure some of the guys in England at the moment will become mainstays of our next good batting line-up,” Chappell, the Australian national talent manager, told News Network.
“I have no doubt that at the end of the series some of them will have shown themselves to have what’s required to produce good performances consistently in the series and seasons to come.
“There will be others perhaps who don’t do that. Then decisions will have to be taken.”
Although not as direct as Ponting, Chappell insinuated Cricket Australia has played a part in Australia’s fall down the Test rankings, saying the junior under 19 competitions haven’t been an outstanding source of talent development and that not enough young guys had been exposed to high level cricket at a young age.
Ponting used his column in the Daily Mail to go all out on Cricket Australia in the wake of the organising body launching a marketing campaign for the Big Bash League as the Test side succumbed to a 347-run loss to England, referring specially to media releases pertaining to the upcoming BBL season and the over-the-top signing of Michael Hussey by the Thunder (involving a helicopter).
“I was flabbergasted when Cricket Australia put out a statement on Sunday night promoting the success of the Big Bash Twenty20 league because the timing, coming so soon after that heavy defeat at Lords, was not ideal,” Ponting wrote in his column in the Daily Mail.
“Cricket Australia is a business and they have invested a lot of time in the Big Bash while cuts have been made in first-class cricket.
“I can see what they were trying to do with that statement but we must remember that the strength of this business will be measured by the success of the national team.
The third Test between Australia and England will kick off at Old Trafford on August 1. The Aussies have already lost James Pattinson to a lower back stress fracture while Shane Watson will being rested as the rest of the squad takes on Sussex in a friendly on Friday.
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