Waugh asks Australian selectors to maintain stability
By IANSWednesday, December 8, 2010
MELBOURNE - Former captain Steve Waugh says it will be difficult for the Australian team to do an Ashes turnaround, but believes the selectors should seek stability rather than continuing to chop and change.
Australia’s crushing innings and 71 run loss to England in Brisbane left them with four losses and a draw from their past five Tests.
“We’re sort of used to doing a demolition job on England and I know how hard England found it to come back from that situation, so it won’t be easy for Australia to come back.
“I don’t know what the selectors are going to do, because they have chopped and changed I think probably too much in the last 12 months,” Waugh was quoted as saying in the Herald Sun.
“You just look at the bowling, they’ve got through so many bowlers, Clint McKay, Peter George, then we’ve got (Ben) Hilfenhaus and (Mitchell) Johnson,” said Waugh.
Waugh, who was part of the last Australian team to lose an Ashes series on home soil in 1986-87, but then played in eight successive series wins, captaining the last two, said the selectors have a tough job at hand.
“Where do you go if you’ve just discarded these guys?
“(Spinner Nathan) Hauritz … do you bring him back now? I think they are in a bit of a quandary as to what to do.”
Waugh, who tasted defeat in just eight out of 46 Ashes contests, said: “The situation similar to back in 85-86 when the selectors sat down and thought ‘this is a group of cricketers we’re going to stick with through thick and thin and let’s back them’.
Waugh said the selectors are almost at the point now where they’ve got to identify players and back them to the hilt.
“I think we’ve just got to get a stable side in there. I think right now we are missing a bit of spark, it may come from the injection of youth.
“I know it’s hard when you are not taking wickets, but someone has has got to lift in that situation.”
Waugh backed Phil Hughes to make a successful comeback to the Test arena if chosen to replace the injured Simon Katich.
“I don’t think he needed to be dropped. He will be fine. He’s got that fire in the belly and you can see something in his eyes.”
