This article published in The Times 9 December

5 ASHES LESSONS FOR SA

FRANK HEYDENRYCH
By every empirical measure, Australia have collapsed as a cricketing power. No 1 for decades, they are now No 5 and heading for No 6 in the world rankings. There is an element of schadenfraude for us as South Africans in the rapid and seemingly unstoppable decline of cricket Down Under.
But we must pause and reflect on the lessons England and Australia have for us, and our own alarm bells should be ringing. Here are five lessons we should be heeding:
1) We need a strong and competitive domestic infrastructure. Australia’s has collapsed. It used to be the feeder of the great Australian team, and grade cricket in turn was the feeder for state cricket. Both are fading away, a consequence of lifestyle change and competition from other sports.
2) Your A team is a benchmark for future strength. Time was our selectors played around with the A team, picking players who were clearly not the next taxi out of the rank. The A team is deathly serious stuff. A decade or so ago the Aussie A team was as potent as the Test team, with unimaginable riches. “World” series featured Australia, Australia A and England, and the final was always between the two local teams. Our A team would feature Jacques Rudolph, Dean Elgar, Andrew Puttick, JP Duminy, Etty Mbhalati and the like. Is our A team strong enough? More importantly, how does the B team look? The Test team is only as good as the pressure it is facing from the next XI in line.
3) Fire the selectors if they are incompetent. There is no doubt whatsoever that Andrew Hilditch and his team of selectors are the least competent in the world. To choose and not retain any of eight spinners after the retirement of Shane Warne settles that discussion. There is also no doubt that Geoff Miller has created a settled, dependable and predictable selectorial environment in England.
4) Plan, plan and plan again, with the right coach and captain in place. England had their Test team settled in July. Australia had theirs settled the day before the first Test. Andrew Strauss pre-programmed Mitchell Johnson’s bowling into a new-generation bowling machine and faced it for four months.
5) Build succession into your system. Ricky Ponting is out of form, strategically and tactically inept, and presiding over the worst deterioration of any Australian team, ever. But there is no one to replace a hapless 35-year-old, just as there is no one to replace Simon Katich, whose career ended this weekend.
Allan Border inherited Kim Hughes’ mess and through sheer bloody-mindedness turned affairs around. Can anyone fix Ponting’s utter shambles, and can South Africa ensure it does not go down the same road?