Cricket Australia

The Australian media quoted that the national side was in complete “tatters” with its captain’s future being increasingly doubted after an embarrassing defeat at the hands of their arch rivals England which has put the Ashes urn out of their reach. “The Ashes are gone. Australian cricket is in tatters,” quoted Sydney’s Daily Telegraph.

“The national sport has been affected and eventually failed by feckless administrators, confused selectors, a helpless coach and sadly out-of-form crucial players.”, it further stated. It was the first time since 1986-87 that the English have retained the Ashes on Australian soil, whose once all-conquering team broke down since the retirement of a few Tests greats.

“Watching Australia throw away the Ashes at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Wednesday afternoon was like paying a visit to a dear friend of yours with a terminal illness,” wrote the renowned Telegraph columnist Andrew Webster. “Despite all the affection for the old fella, all that could be done was helplessly keep looking at him. There was nothing one could do.”

Aussie skipper Ricky Ponting came under the scanner again after he contributed just 20 runs to the Australia’s second innings of 258 in the fourth test, completely sealing an embarrassing performance following a heated exchange of words over the Decision Review System (DRS) with the umpire which cost him 40 percent of his match fee.

“Is it the end or beginning of the end for our troubled leader?” the Telegraph quoted, while another daily The Australian called him, “No longer the master and commander.”

“The only question that remains is whether the captain would go down with his vessel,” wrote Malcolm Conn for The Australian.

“To target Ponting at this crucial and troubled phase would further widen the scar already borne by the side,” he added. “But back to back failure of such type has gone beyond tolerance.” The Sydney Morning Herald quoted that England were here “Long to reign over us,” while Glenn Mitchell, the ABC website prominent columnist termed Ponting as “A dead man walking”.

However former Australian Test leg spinner Shane Warne who is among those class of players which helped in giving Australia a stranglehold on world cricket during the mid 1990s urged selectors not to get panicky in such a delicate situation. “Let’s go away and focus on things, rather than rushing into any silly or bad decisions,” Warne quoted in the Telegraph, saying that Ponting should remain as the skipper till the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup in February 2011 and rest can be thought after that.

Tags: Andrew Webster, Ashes Urn, Australia, Australian Media, Cricket, Daily Telegraph, England, Glenn Mitchell, Malcolm Conn, Media, Ricky Ponting, Sydney Morning Herald, The Australian