Furthermore, it is a liberating feeling hearing an Australian cricketer finally speak the damn truth about the pathetic, public relations rubbish we have been fed by both the National Selection Panel (NSP) and Cricket Australia with their policies and lack of transparency with the shuffle of players in both Test and ODI cricket.
The Baggy Green Blog is about supporting Australian cricket as a whole, but when a player is hard done by on an issue I have questioned for a long time as a loyal supporter, I will support that player 100%!
Katto did something that required courage. For that word to be worthy to one’s character they need to show it in a challenging environment.
He did it on the sport field for us, but this is a serious testament, in my opinion, to his character.
Read the Katich case here: Link at Cricinfo.com with interview
If you are going to come to the Baggy Green Blog and have your say about how he did it was unprofessional and all that junk, sod off.
For three years we have dealt with inconsistencies. I want to support a team of guys who know they belong there, who have worked hard and have earned their spot and most importantly I want to know who the hell the players are I am supporting. By that I mean it’s important to know they are playing for the pride of the Baggy Green and that we know their stories as cricketers.
We have had spinners come and go, certain players getting endless lifelines, not to mention this never ending bullshit that younger players must be streamlined.
Test cricket is a highly skilled form of the game. If you don’t have the goods both mentally and technically concerned, you will fail!
Katto’s story is one of both those aspects and to drop him on age with the Ashes still two years away is total stupidity and ignorance on a selection platform.
I love the Ashes, I live for it, but I put Australian cricket first. Sri-Lanka and South Africa are currently higher ranked than Australia and are going to be tough contest. England has NOTHING to do with the upcoming clashes.
We needed Katto’s expertise alongside Shane Watson, who is our most valuable player.
Their duo works and even though Katto’s contract wasn’t renewed and although he could (and should) still play for us, the reality is it is unlikely as it was clearly stated that no renewal was to make way for a younger, new opening prospect to partner Shane Watson.
Go figure. Given Katto’s consistency and commitment to our team, yeah, I’d be pissed off if I was him.
Never mind how hard he has worked to improve his injury on the Achilles which is a very difficult injury to overcome. Isn’t that an indication he was determined to return for us?
A cheap shot by the NSP!
Of course this ordeal isn’t complete without Shane Warne throwing in his verdict, which was that if Katich goes, what about the rest of age?
He didn’t state anyone but it was pretty obvious who he was referring too.
I see his point, but the fact is Katto was performing, more so than some of our younger players.
The reasoning isn’t sufficient and Katto was clear that this isn’t financially related, but rather performance related, which I believe; “It's just that I know I've earned the right to play for Australia through my performance and to have that taken away for a reason I don't agree with is blatantly wrong."
I also see Katto had his New South Wales Blues shirt on at the announcement he made.
Being involved in Australian cricket for over a decade, you have to say Katto has been thrown into the crapper on this issue and fully deserved better treatment on the matter.
This is pure corporate mentality though.
I don’t agree with Shane Warne for one second with bringing in young players to test level without proven performances in at least Sheffield or limited overs cricket at International level.
I have my examples to back this and we all know Warnie hasn’t been shy is questioning Michael Hussey in particular, so as far as I’m concerned Warnie’s opinion on this matter is fifty fifty.
He has a point on the other players around Katto’s age, but at the same time it’s not valid on a basis of questioning performance if a player still delivers the goods.
Age means buggar all in test cricket if a guy around 34 or 35 is performing.
If age and a new opening partnership for the Ashes are the reasons the NSP has for sacking Katto’s contract, the same could be said for the top order with Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey. Don’t get me wrong, I support Huss and Punter just as I am doing so for Katto, but there is some serious contradictions if the case is purely aimed at Katto, right?
Wasn’t it the laughed at “Dad’s Army” that won the 2006/07 Ashes 5-0? Warne was there.
Bottom line, this is the truth! So what’s with this crap about youth must be injected…yes, by all means do so in ODI cricket and push for better competitiveness at State level, but not in Test cricket.
I have really thought hard about this current situation.
Apart from having a good laugh at James Sutherland’s really hearty C.E.O type comments (which makes me think of the Andrew Hilditch contradictions), I think it’s great when the underdog questions the bigger picture.
The same scenario would be you going up to your Boss in front of your colleagues, who are brown nosing to keep their pay check glorified, and bringing out the unfair dismissal of your job and the lack of integrity and ethics displayed via top management or the human resources department.
You probably wouldn’t go through with it. If you could, that’s courage, which is what Katto did, in a very clean and professional manner with factual substance.
They have hit a nerve with Katto and dammit it’s awesome to have someone tell it like it is.
For too long they (The NSP) have gotten away with it, but let’s have a look at the comments laid out by our C.E.O of Cricket Australia.
"I am not necessarily saying Simon has entirely called them into question in that fashion but Cricket Australia stands by them in terms of their integrity and the process they go through."
I’m sure Simon has called them into question because they have done a poor job. And now the inconsistencies and, I quote one of my Twitter followers, “I think it's great that they're (the players) speaking their minds & exposing the hypocrisy present.”
Hypocrisy is one thing, but it’s more so blatant inconsistencies and contradictions that have forced a player who grafted during the dominant era to put his Baggy Green back on, to come forward and state things.
"I'm sure the door's not entirely closed on him. I sincerely wish him the very best and encourage to put lots of runs on the board to prove the selectors wrong."
"That's sport, isn't it? Everyone's under review all of the time."
We have dropped from number 1 to 5. We have lost two Ashes series.
Sure, 2009s loss was due to some tactical errors and just losing key moments.
Of course, the 11 players who go out there need to win, but if there’s off-field politics (selection issues) and players who are not full of confidence within their selection (Michael Beer, Xavier Doherty, Phillip Hughes) then there will be a lack of synergy.
So, selection is related to sport and performance. If everyone is under review, why do we have the selection panel still in place? Why is Hilditch still there? They have FAILED!
They have failed a player, who did what Sutherland said by scoring a record pile of runs for NSW in the Sheffield Shield a few years back to mark his return to the elite level.
Why must he do it again? Sutherland should have reworded this daft statement as Katto wasn’t dropped on form, but lost his contract on age!
"I reject any criticism of the selectors, in terms of their individual integrity, the collective integrity and the integrity of the process that they go through to decide who the best team is, the best players are, the best squad is for Australian cricket."
"It's not an easy job but they are the people that Cricket Australia vests the responsibility in to do so."
Yes, it is a very hard job. But how has that job been done? They have made their PART-TIME jobs harder. They’ve been inconsistent, with no solid long term prospects and absolutely no definite clarity on their overall intentions. I think these issues go right into State cricket, which Darren Berry recently slammed.
For Darren Berry’s views, take a read here, this bloke is one of the many coaching or organisational characters we need in the system! Although he does look at the players and how lucrative deals at State level lowers competitive work ethic, thus contributing to lower quality cricket.
"The simple answer is yes, Simon could have expressed his views more privately. But he chose to do that in the manner that he did," Sutherland said.
He had a right, which Sutherland accepts. But if Katto hadn’t done this, we would not have been aware of it and Cricket Australia and the NSP would have gotten away with their antics once again.
Now they have been cornered and privacy means nothing. Transparency is the solution and the public are aware! What marketing gimmick will resolve it?
Not too long ago I linked an article to some comments made by Stuart Clark.
He has insisted that the whole structure needs to be looked at. Furthermore, the selectors should be held accountable for their decisions as the players are for their performances.
The two are directly related and the NSP have underperformed and for this reason, why should we stand for it? Why should the players stand for it?
The NSP never get questioned and always get support from Cricket Australia, even when their performances do require questioning.
I add a quote from a Cricinfo.com source;
Both Katich and his former Australian team-mate Stuart Clark were adamant about the need to implement a system whereby the selectors were employed full-time and made to be as accountable for their decisions as the players are for their performances.
In just one of many memorable lines, Katich summed up the incongruity of $2 million-earning players being judged by part-time selectors on $40,000 a year by saying "when you talk about money you get the best in the business for paying. If you pay peanuts you get monkeys".
Furthering Clark’s opinion;
"I think it's a joke that they're part-time. You're dealing with $2 million salaries and a guy that works part-time getting $40,000 a year, it's laughable,
"(Full-time) would make them more accountable. At the moment they have got some sort of accountability, but when was the last time you saw a selector sacked for a poor selection? I can't seem to remember one.
"Selection's a tough ask, you've got to balance a lot of different issues and a lot of different perspectives. Whether this is right I'm not sure, but let's just hope the selection process gets better because of this.
"He's arguably Australia's best batsman over the past three years, so for him not to be selected can only mean that they've just said 'you're too old and we want to go down a youth path' and any other job in the country that'd probably end up in court somewhere.
"A four-minute conversation is probably not enough for someone that's been part of the organisation for 12 years. How long is right I don't know, but surely Simon deserves something more than that."
Our players are treated like royalty with their payment, but clearly the treatment they get as professional sportsmen in a development and selection guidance environment is poor enough for someone to come out and state something that is nothing new.
It is an issue that has been apparent for a long time, and for that reason – which has affected players as well – I back Katto and believe his argument is valid and related to the love of the game, his pride in representing the Baggy Green and a genuine care for his job as an opening batsman.
How this is addressed? Cricket Australia said no punishment would be handed out, damn right about that! Good answer Mr Sutherland.
I also think this situation Katto has exposed goes alot deeper than his personal situation, in fact I think even he is aware of that. His situation has been the instrument though to sound this whole fiasco.
What I really hope is that these part-time selectors will be thrown overboard, especially Greg Chappell who is always going on about "young talent" and we all know what happened in India during his reign.
I would love to see a return of the old army, like we have with Justin Langer and Craig McDermott, to all areas of Australian cricket.
Even Michael Slater – a member of the “old army” - slammed the selectors when speaking to the Daily Telegraph;
"I think he has been appallingly hung ... If his replacement (Phil Hughes) came in scoring hundreds and was red hot, then I can understand an injury stopping someone in their mid-30s. But that clearly hasn't happened.
"The system that is being reviewed at the moment around the country, what are they reviewing?
The first thing they should be reviewing is the selectors and the selection process and I'd start with the chairman of selectors."
I hope the public is fully aware of ordeal and that it is no longer just the supporters being clueless gits on selection matters, but rather our views be seen as a genuine concern that is felt by some of our most respected cricketers, who we support and want to see thrive at the elite to win games for us.
If the politics are off-balance and the system is shaky, why support it?
I have always stated that you don’t support the system you were born into it, but rather support the system because you believe in it.
It is something I stand strongly by and this retaliation by Katto justifies that statement.
Sure, the whole thing of this is just a game and why should we give a shit because the players get fat cat salaries anyway, may come into this but I believe this incident with Simon Katich has simply brought about awareness with the issue that has been infesting itself deeper into the worries of Australian cricket.
The NSP’s antics have actually made me, as a supporter, lose a bit of enthusiasm with our cricket. Perhaps one example may be that I sympathise with a player who gets sacked after 1 test match, only because they shouldn’t have been there to begin with or because the NSP doesn’t know what the heck they are doing.
Or it’s because they – the NSP - listen to Shane Warne’s public rants like it’s a gospel e.g. Michael Beer at the WACA.
It was also amusing when Katto mentioned the 17 man Ashes Squad announcement.
I never wanted to comment on that on the Baggy Green Blog as it would have been a negative input regarding our side heading into the Ashes, which we were all nervous about. It’s kind of a laugh looking back at it now with the series concluded.
Cricket is important to us, it has a major role in our personal lives away from work and family matters, and even then it is indirectly related on those grounds.
The quality of the game and the belief Dan I hold at the Baggy Green Blog is directly related to this matter and that is, the game must be put first and “long live cricket” for the supporters and players!
If the players are dissatisfied and the system is unstable, we should question it and folks, the three year old argument some of us have been expressing regarding the NSP – starting with Brad Hodge and the spinner dilemmas - has finally been made public by a solid performer for Australian cricket.
Let us hope that a time of change will happen now and that the transition stage revolves back towards the selection panel and the organisational hierarchy.
We have some intense cricket coming up where we could have done with Katto on the tour to open with Shane Watson, as Michael Clarke embarks on his first series as official Captain in August.
A younger team may be the way to go in limited overs cricket, but I’m convinced a young team with very little combined experience will be eaten alive in the upcoming contests.
Therefore, we need a team blending youth and experience for the next 6-12 months in test cricket.
It is time for Cricket Australia to facilitate cricket again, to stop being a marketing machine and to do what is best for the game…and not compete with the IPL.
Nurture the younger players with the guidance of experienced players, while having some enthusiastic retired players (of a recent era) in coaching or managerial roles and sack the marketing gurus’ influence on our team.
Good on ya Simon Katich. You’ve got the supporters of the Baggy Green backing you!
I just never thought Australian cricket could sink so low due to so many fickle matters.
Katto telling it like it is before the media. This incident could prove to be a massive moment in Australian cricket for the changes to be made.
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9 comments:
Unfortunately Ian, I expect it to make no difference, even Katich has given all of us fans who have been pulling our hair out with the sheer weirdness of our NSP a real moment of catharsis.
Good on him. It's so rare for someone to say these things in such a deliberate manner as he did. The entire press conference did not strike me as spur-of-the-moment, he has thought many of these things for a long time.
lou
Great piece Ian.
I'm glad that someone has come out and told it like it is.
In England we seem to have this attitude that we don't say anything controversial to upset anyone, so good on Katich.
He didn't just lash out either, it was constructive what he said.
Looking at things from the UK, and during the Ashes it was clear to everyone who follows cricket over here that the Australian set up was in disarray. The 17 man squad, spinners going through revolving doors, Mitchell Johnson's form, etc, etc, there seemed like an endless list of issues that were never dealt with. There never seemed to be any strong leadership.
I'm not gloating, honestly, I've loved watching Australia over the years, (except obviously when you were thrashing England), I've loved the brand of cricket you've played in the past and it's a shame to see it in it's current state.
I don't honestly think that the team is that bad. I just think a bit of tinkering is needed here and there, not major surgery.
The problem is that there seems to be idiots running the game who are making atrocious decisions and not giving the team a chance in the first place. It reminds me of what England were like for years during late 80's, the 90's and early 2000's.
What has happened to Katich seems a joke to me, by all means invest in youth in the 50 over side, but in the test arena you should have your strongest team out.
If Australia were a side with about 5 or 6 batsmen all coming to the end of their careers I could understand making a sacrifice for the future, but they're not.
Watson, Clarke and a potential No.6all have age on their side, and it's not certain that the other 3 will all need replacing in one go. In time, a natural decline in ability due to age would have accounted for the 3 at their own various stages anyway.
I refer back to my point earlier about idiots running the game and not giving the team its best chance, this seems like another example of that.
Hi Lou
Atleast someone has come out and stated the truth. This has been a long time coming and it's better than everyone shutting up.
Katich is a tough bloke so CA should have been prepared for his exchange on the matter.
As Dean said, he was very calm with the matter. I mean, he was probably seething under the surface, but he was constructive and this was something that's been on his mind a long time (as Lou also pointed out).
Dean, you are spot on. It isn't gloating;
"Looking at things from the UK, and during the Ashes it was clear to everyone who follows cricket over here that the Australian set up was in disarray. The 17 man squad, spinners going through revolving doors, Mitchell Johnson's form, etc, etc, there seemed like an endless list of issues that were never dealt with. There never seemed to be any strong leadership."
This is why I believe the selectors have FAILED! They haven't adressed issues and rectified them.
I'm watching the Windies at the moment with Bishoo their young spinner. Nothing too special but he has been improving game by game and believes he belongs there.
There is no belief anymore in Australian cricket and this started at the top. The players don't trust and believe in the idiots running the show so failure is obvious.
The players have to go out there and in 2009 I believe we lost key moments (with one blemish in selection being no spinner for the 5th test) but last Ashes was very frustrating because of the inconsistent game plan. You could see there was disharmony in the camp, but it was covered up with marketing tactics.
Well, it's all been said - and I hope Lou is wrong about it not making a difference, but I bet she's not.
Can anything happen in Australian cricket without Warne sticking his fat face in?
The Bishoo example is an interesting one, I'd never thought of him, but I can fully see where you are coming from.
This is one place where I believe the Aussie selectors have failed miserably - with the spinner.
First it cost you the 2009 Ashes, with the lack of one at the Oval. Have they learnt from that? Not in my opinion, they looked in a worse state in the last Ashes.
I've written this before somewhere, maybe on this site or somewhere else, but this is what I expected to happen in England when Flintoff retired.
I expected England to go all around county cricket trying out all sorts of misfits in the no.6 position trying to replicate Flintoff with bat (in early career) and ball.
They named Luke Wright in the immeadiate test touring squad after Flintoff retired, everyone in England knows that Luke Wright wasn't and still isn't up to the job. They didn't use him and he hasn't had a look in since.
England then went with a batsman at 6 and have stuck to it to this day, they have been criticised in some quarters by people who will never be happy, but they have a plan and they are sticking too it.
They haven't spent two to three years looking for a player who just doesn't exist (another Flintoff), like the Aussie selectors seem to have done looking for the new Shane Warne. They settled on 6 batsmen and have stuck to it.
South Africa are another example, they had Paul Harris (yes, Paul Harris) as part of their attack.
Why? I always asked myself as I think he is absolutely garbage as a spinner. Not because he is their version of Shane Warne, but because he can play as part of a team and implement the team plans by complementing their seam attack. In short, he does a job.
It's not rocket science, it's just common sense and the Aussie selectors have failed miserably in this department since they ditched Hauritz, they have treated some of your spinners in an appauling way, probably setting the younger ones back years in their development - almost making Katich's treatment look somewhat exceptable.
If they can't find a role in the side for a particular spinner, then what chance have they got in sorting out more complex issues like Mitchell Johnson?
Instead they go and pick a fight in an area they don't need too with Katich, instead of addressing far more immeadiate issues.
Just too cheer you up, it's far from perfect over here. Our selectors seem to know where they are going with the test team, but the ODI squad is all over the place, no one seems to have a clue which direction to take that side in.
We have also just sacked our most successful T20 captain ever for no apparent reason and no one has even batted an eye lid.
I'm no fan of Paul Collingwood, but I did have some sympathy with him getting sacked as T20 captain for no reason. It was amazing that no one even seemed to notice. There was more of an outcry over ICC kicking affiliate nations out of the next 50 over world cup.
Will be interesting to see what the outcome is if Stuart Broad ends up as a disaster - which lets be honest, there's every chance of happening.
"Instead they go and pick a fight in an area they don't need too with Katich, instead of addressing far more immediate issues."
Did no-one else see this coming though? I thought it was logical they would get rid of him. I had a long discussion on another forum with another disaffected fan just after the last Ashes test and we both knew this was coming. It was too easy once Kat was injured. They have to be seen to be doing SOMETHING after the Ashes and getting rid of the p/t fielding coach and Kat, who didn't really play too much of the Ashes, seems to be about the extent of it. They can't touch Punter or Hussey for reasons of PR as much a cricket. Everyone else can rest easy and point at those things as 'constructive' action, looking at youth and all that.
And to keep the spinners on their toes three of them have CA contracts (none of whom are SOK so performances in A matches are irrelevant as we know), including Hauritz who has been dumped twice in or around Ashes series for no real reason that anyone can see and whom they obviously don't trust.
Weirdness continues.
lou
There is no way that youth can out do experience. You need both young and old in a team. I firmly believe that Katich was "dumped" (there is no other word to describe it) as a direct result of his age.
I was most impressed with his composure and clarity whilst giving his statement.
Hopefully it will make the powers that be wake. However, I fear it will possibly require a few more players to be unceremoniously dumped before there is any (re)action.
The fact that CSA has not even had the courtesy to have a decent conversation with Katich to give him the truthful reason, indicates just how spineless they are.
I wish Kattich all the very best and truly hope that something good comes out of his statement - for himself, those who have gone before him and those who, sadly, have yet to follow.
Thanks everyone for your comments. I have read each point and noted it.
Building on the "stick with your talent pool" factor (noting what Dean said regarding England).
I was thinking back to when I was younger. I could probably recall most International teams scorecards I used to read in magazines, notably their batting line-ups and who the players were.
How can I remember this? It's because selectors chose a CORE group of players.
Then they had their EMERGING TALENT group, followed by their contingencies i.e. The players who are capable and filling in for an injured or rested player from the core group, who has either international experience or sufficient State cricket experience.
This is what I would like to see.
Here we go folks, let the fun begin.
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