On the face of it, there’s nothing significant about Ricky Ponting giving up playing international T20 cricket. After all, he couldn’t be arsed showing up for the first 4 ODIs in England (by which time his side will probably have an unassailable lead anyway), so why wear himself out on hit-and-giggle cricket?
But think about it. This is the first sign that the old order is changing, and it might be to Australia’s advantage. Since the Chappell/Yallop/Hughes era of Packer-inspired confusion, Australia have liked to have their captaincy succession clearly set out well in advance. The only one in line to take over from Border was Taylor and the only one in line to replace Taylor was Waugh.
Ironically, the last time things were anything less than clear cut was when both Warne and Gilchrist blotted their copybooks and let Punter himself in.
But look at the list of names above. None of them are as in love with the limelight as Michael Clarke is. And how the hell can anyone gain respect as a captain when the whole world knows them as ‘Pup’?
On the other hand, of the list above, only three players have improved their overall international record as captain. Chappell and Border are two of them, but the other one is Clarke.
Which makes you wonder if the time for the Ponting style of captain, the scowling, emotionless (unless faced with Gary Pratt) leader, is at an end. There’s been no sign of Clarke being a tactical genius, but the way he behaves in the field, both admonishing and laughing at himself, might be the way forward for this new generation of Aussie cricketers. After all, Ponting hardly got the best out of them or himself this summer. Might it be time for him to hand over the reins altogether?
