Australia beset by fear and confusion

31.12.08

THE bigger they are, the harder they fall. It's an old saying but a goodie, and one that fits like a cricket boot for Australia after the series loss to South Africa rubber-stamped the end of a sustained period of world domination.

It was always going to happen. No team in any sport where money is not king can succeed forever. The natural cycle will see to that, and it is to Australia’s credit that they sat atop the tree for so abnormally long.

Three successive World Cups, home-and-away wins against every Test-playing nation of note, a Champions Trophy and an undefeated home Test series run of 15 years - it's a double-edged sword that marks an immense dynasty yet offers the harshest of contrasts when times turn sour.

But the inevitability of Australia’s slide should not hide, nor excuse, the selection and management issues that have beset the team and exacerbated its decline.

The biggest cock-up of the summer has involved Andrew Symonds. Australia’s handling of the mercurial all-rounder has been equal parts mystifying and disgraceful.

It can only be assumed Symonds would have been selected for Sydney were it not for his knee injury, but selectors should be held accountable for the fact that he played even one game for his country this season.

It was as good as common knowledge inside Queensland that Symonds was not in the right head space to play Test cricket after the ‘Gone Fishing’ saga that almost ended his career. “He is no longer the player they think he is - his head is not right," one Bulls player said.

If that wasn’t enough, the fact Symonds could barely buy a run for his state should have set alarm bells ringing. But no. Symonds was allowed to resume his Test career at the expense of Shane Watson, a younger man who excelled in India, offers as much with the bat and who is a vastly better bowler than his fellow Queenslander.

Australia’s spin cycle is a glaringly obvious problem. Since Warne’s exit two years ago, Australia have flirted with seven spinners and look no closer to a resolution. Jason Krejza was almost a chancy find in India, but, instead of counting their blessings, selectors halted his career after Perth and incongruously plumped for Nathan Hauritz

Talk about muddled thinking. One of the sobering realities of modern Australia is an attack that struggles to take 20 wickets. Having failed to defend 414 in the fourth innings in Perth, Australia eschewed Krejza in favour of a fellow greenhorn who by his own admission is more content holding up an end than tossing the ball up to take wickets.