Punter without McWarne

[Gambit]

looks like the dumbest captain in the history of cricket. Pathetic field placings and ridiculous tactics to save himself from a one match ban. Ain't fit to shine SRW's boots at all.

[bharat297]

I dont think Steve Waugh was that great a captain either. Remember he too had McGrath and Warne. In my opinion the best captain they had (well since 1980 anyway) was Mark Taylor. Shrewd tactician and he used his bowlers very wisely. Set smart field placings and had a very good situational awareness. I see those same traits in Dhoni.

[Dooks]

Waugh was 100 times better than crybaby Ponting.

[SachDan]

dumbest captain ever :hysterical::hysterical::hysterical:

[flamy]

^^ Too bad, I wasnt here then. I'd have eloquently pointed out Pwnting was dumb even back then.

[DomainK]

I always maintained that there is a difference between a good captain and a lucky captain. Punter has been a lucky and rich captain. Rich with wealth of excellent resources that never allowed his task to be difficult enough for him to be tested. Now when he faces the real challenges, he looks dumber than any other captain.

[milkman]

Punter without McWarne is like a doodwalla without a bhains.

[Holysmoke]

Punter without McWarne is like a doodwalla without a bhains.

GKD is back :yay:

[Mr. Wicket]

Ponting as a captain always had some stupid ideas. Warne and McGrath were incredibly intelligent cricketers with tremendous tactical nous and to rerereuse a tired cliche, "great cricketing brains". Both were such key senior players that they made decisions for themselves and often advised Ponting. Warne set his own fields and bowled as he felt was appropriate, McGrath often demanded to bowl when he felt like it and of course wouldn't let Ponting dictate his fields/lines, etc. More than that, the two could often negate Ponting's stupider ideas by offering their own, and giving some help to the other bowlers in the side. With both McGrath and Warne gone, Ponting is the sole senior player in such a role. Hayden is a senior player, but doesn't play the same role as a senior statesman of the team. And with no brains to feed off, or great bowlers to turn to in any situation (and really, how many brains do you need to think of "Sh-t, we need a wicket - give the ball to Warney or Pidge" or "Too many runs bleeding - ask Warney or Pidge to bowl"?), Ponting is being ruthlessly exposed as a mediocre captain incapable of innovation, testing opposition players by methods that don't involve trash talk or leading by any means other than with the bat. Being a great batsman can only inspire a team so much.

[suraj]

Waugh was 100 times better than crybaby Ponting.

Absolutely no comparison!!

[Donny]

Totally agree with Salil on this one and let's not forget Boof's influence. His vast experience and cricketing nous was also missed (by RP) when he left the team.

[Mr. Wicket]

Agree. Let's not forget Boof, Gilly or even Langer. Right now the major senior players are Lee, Hayden and Symonds, and neither are doing the role expected of most senior players, acting as spare right arms to the captain. It was something people like Warney, Healy and co. all did so well, and right now Australia relies mostly on two brains - Nielsen's and Ponting's. The sad thing is that Hussey could very well be an outstanding captain, or even an outstanding vice captain. He's got some great stuff between his ears, has plenty of acumen and nous and if he was a v/c, Australia would be so much better off. Instead, as someone considered too old to be a future captain - and older than Clarke (not to mention that he came into both the test and ODI teams well after Clarke got established and and is junior in that sense), Australia aren't getting what they could potentially get from him. The resources are there, but just not being used. PS: Let us not forget the last time Australia toured India. They were the dominant team in 2 of 3 tests, all captained by Gilchrist. Cue Punter, and they lost at Mumbai. Yes the pitch was poor, but there were some shocking mistakes from Ponting - particularly calling for a heavy roller before the 4th innings run chase on a pitch that was cracking.