Charity Selecting | Thebigtip

Greg Chappell’s record speaks for itself. From one of cricket’s illustrious families he was the best of them all, averaging in the mid-50’s throughout his career. David Boon is still Tasmania’s favourite son and a legend of Australia’s revival era, he averaged a tick under 44 in 100 plus tests, but more importantly he was instrumental in changing the culture of the national side.

Jamie Cox was unlucky. He was born 10 years too late to make an international impact, thus he was relegated to the tag of ‘best outside the Test team’ for much of his career.

Andrew Hilditch managed to play 18 test matches during the heartbreaking early 1980’s. He averaged a modest 31.5 and scored 20% of his runs in two innings during the middle of his career. He is better known for being the son-in-law of Bob Simpson and getting given out handle-the-ball.

That is the National Selection Panel. The question is whether playing records are relevant to such an important role as a national selector? And it is asked in the context of the recently announced Australian contract list.

No one will ever disparage Chappell or Boon both in terms of their individual record and their presence in a winning culture. But for Cox and Hilditch it is a different matter. Jamie Cox never played for the national side, so never got to experience the culture first hand, adding to that he retired before Tasmania started winning all their trophies. He really did not have any winning experience in Australia as good as he was as an individual.

For the head selector Hilditch, he was lucky enough to represent his country. Yet apart from his below par batting average he played in only three winning Test matches and had left the scene before, ironically, Simpson’s mark had been left in Australian folklore.

These points are relevant when they are the shepherds trying to shelter their flock from the storm. If they do not know how to win Test matches, how do they know what to look for when selecting a winning combination?

And if we are to be critical on a different level, these two have been on the panel a long time and have been in charge during the country’s fall from grace. If it were politics they would have been stabbed in the back long ago; if it were business, shareholders would have revolted.

We cannot even make the case that the players are the sole cause of the problem when as recently as the Ashes the selectors made at least three major blunders.

Mitchell Johnson got dropped for the Adelaide Test and was hailed as a masterstroke because he did well in Perth the next match. Well if he played in Adelaide we may have just won the match, so important is he to Australian cricket right now. We went into that match without the best bowling attack available, ridiculous.

Then there was the spinning debacle. Three were used, the two best were left in the wings and another not even considered even though he got wickets against England in a warm up match.

But the ultimate mistake was Marcus North playing and David Hussey left out completely. The Victorian may have been the real difference in the series. Certainly North made a negative impact on the series.

This is where we come to the announced Australian contracted players.

The theory is that we are entering a new era and need to blood new players. Rubbish, absolute rubbish.

We need to select winners and performers, not potential. And that is where I fear both Hilditch and Cox are erring, they have little experience in this field of winning and have come up with a squad comprising of at least 5 mistakes.

The funniest, if only because he is playing for New South Wales, is selecting teenager Patrick Cummins. What on earth has this raw kid ever done to be given the privilege of being named among the country’s best? He has pace for sure, but has anyone noticed that his biggest haul in Shield cricket is 3 wickets? His output in the Shield Final, over two innings, was 3 wickets at a cost of 50 runs per scalp. This is a diabolical decision. Let the young man have a good season this year and put pressure on him to improve his game by NOT selecting him.

Brett Lee has been given another chance because of his games played during the World Cup. A case should be made to add another to the list because let us face it, Lee is shot and should not play another game.

Again in that category is Ben Hilfenhaus. A dreadful summer where he felt the ball could swing by bowling bouncers all day; he went back to Tasmania and had a poor end of season though at least he was in a winning side.

John Hastings has been given a contract for being the best drinks carrier during the World Cup (I think there was a trophy handed out). But what has he actually done? At first class level he averages in the mid-20’s with ball which is respectable but lower than that with the bat. So he is not the big all-rounder the selectors think he is. Especially when compared to two players who missed out.