Simon says, “Unfair”! And Katich is absolutely right!

As a Test team, Australia have struggled a touch over the last three years and is still in rebuilding phase.

 

By Nishad Pai Vaidya 

 

“I just want to apologize for not having a shave this morning. My friends say that it makes me look five years younger! But I don’t want to hide from the fact that I am 35, so apologize for that.”

 

Simon Katich started his press conference by sarcastically highlighting the reason for him being clipped from Australia’s contract list. Katich was surprisingly not offered a contract by Cricket Australia, despite being one of Australia’s most consistent performers in Test cricket in recent times. He thus joined a long list of players who have been dropped by Australia due to inconsistent selection policies.

 

Katich’s outburst is very natural as it comes from a man who has performed well since his comeback in the year 2008. The reason given to him by the Australian selectors was that the “opening combination had to be settled before the 2013 Ashes.” It is this very reason that has upset Katich as he along with Shane Watson had forged a successful opening partnership since the Ashes 2009.

 

When you look at Katich’s stats since his comeback in 2008, he does have the “numbers on the board” as he underlined in the press conference, averaging five notches more than his overall career average. Eight of his 10 Test hundreds in this golden phase.

 

Here are his stats since his comeback into Tests:

 

Matches	Runs	Average	Hundreds
33	2928	50.48	8

 

(Comeback match: West Indies vs Australia, 22-26 May 2008)

 

As a Test team, Australia have struggled a touch over the last three years and is still in rebuilding phase. As a selector, would you drop somebody who averages over 50 and is scoring consistently even as the team is struggling?

 

One of many interesting statements made by Katich at that press conference was “there have been rules for some and rules of others.” Considering the fact that his age was the biggest factor in his axing, there are two other men in the contract list namely Ricky Ponting and Mike Hussey, both a year older than Katich. The point to be noted is that Katich has performed much better that Hussey and Ponting, which clearly highlights “rules for some, rules for others.” Here are their stats in Test cricket since May 22, 2008.

 

Player	Matches	Runs	Average	Hundreds
Ponting	36	2587	40.42	5
Hussey	37	2462	39.07	5

 

Katich has played lesser matches than both Ponting and Hussey but has scored more runs and hundreds than them. He also averages a clear 10 points more than them in the period since May 2008.

 

He also stated that “Age shouldn’t be a factor, it is performance that counts” and gave India’s example who have quite a few players over 35 but still are ranked number one. The “rules for some, rules for others” statement becomes even stronger when you compare Katich’s record to that of Ponting’s and Hussey’s. Clearly, the rules for his axing are different and age was the biggest factor. But at the same time there are others who are a little elder to him, who haven’t performed as well as him but continue to find a place in the Australian setup.

 

Players like Tendulkar and Graham Gooch have proved that even after 35, a batsman can play some of his best Test cricket. Katich made a comeback at 32 and was consistent since then. At 35, he is wiser and has more experience. If Hussey and Ponting can find a place in the Australian scheme of things, then there is no reason why Katich should be left out.

 

It was also pointed out by Katich that the inconsistent selection policies had affected quite a few players in the past and he was the latest addition. Over the years we have seen players like Michael Bevan, Andrew Bichel, Nathan Bracken, and Stuart Clark being left out due to inconsistent selection policies.

 

Bevan and Bichel were a part of the World Cup winning side of 2003 and had played a pivotal role in Australia’s triumph. After Australia toured Sri Lanka in February-March 2004, both of them were omitted from the Cricket Australia contract list. Bevan was as consistent as ever even before his omission. As usual he would come in to bat down the order and chip in with quick-fire knocks.

 

Nathan Bracken was one of the world’s most effective one-day bowlers before he got injured in September 2009. As he recovered from the injury and tried getting back into domestic cricket, he was left out of the contract list. From being a fantastic one-day bowler to a no contract situation, it took Bracken less than a year. Usually, a team management would help a player in rehabs etc. but in Bracken’s case he was simply left out.

 

Katich has done really well to come out into the open and make his feelings clear. Some of the statements he made are strong and aptly describe Australia’s inconsistent selection policies. When one is dropped for not performing it is fair but to leave somebody out in the cold after a prolific run is simply unacceptable.

 

Clearly, Cricket Australia has done nothing to improve the morale of ageing players.

 

(Nishad Pai Vaidya, a 20-year-old law student, is a club and college-level cricketer. His teachers always complain, “He knows the stats and facts of cricket more than the subjects we teach him.”)

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