Sydney, Aussie cricketing greats and former skippers have blasted captain Ricky Ponting for his selection of bowlers on day four of the last Test in Nagpur which India won by 172 runs, thereby winning the four-match series 2-0.

One-time spearhead Jeff Thomson described Ponting as an ordinary captain, though he added, he was a great batsman. “I always thought he was an ordinary captain and this proves it. His captaincy calculator isn''t that brilliant, is it? Don''t get me wrong, he''s a great batsman but an ordinary captain,” the Herald Sun quoted Thomson as saying.

He blamed Ponting for conceding the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with his "ridiculous" decisions.

Cricket Australia (CA) Chief Executive James Sutherland said he would seek an explanation from Ponting about his tactics on day four.

Similarly, according to the report, Ian Chappell, Rodney Hogg and Mark Waugh could not believe what they saw on Sunday when Ponting used part-time bowlers to overcome a slow over-rate, despite the chance of a series-leveling win. “It was a ridiculous decision. Ponting should have just gone for the throat and worried about the consequences later. Surely team management must have had a say in this as well. What a stupid decision it was. On the over-rate, I’d prefer to watch 60 overs of quality rather than 90 overs of crap,” Hogg said.

Former Test captain Steve Waugh appeared a but supportive of Ponting. He said it was wrong to put all the blame on the captain himself.

“I felt it was unfair for the captain to wear all of the blame. But, there are far too many stoppages. I remember when I played it was considered a badge of honour not to have a drink in a session (apart from the allotted break). And no one died from dehydration. These days there are far too many drinks breaks. It''s ridiculous. It is just not the captain''s fault. It is up to coaches, referees and umpires to keep the show moving. But I am sure Ricky would regret the decision,” Waugh said, and added: “Winning the Test match is what mattered. You have just spent six weeks in the subcontinent. You just don''t take your foot off the gas.”

Waugh is the only long-serving Australian Test captain with a better winning percentage than Ponting.

Former Test skipper Ian Chappell described Sunday as “the most bizarre day of Test cricket I have ever seen”. Questioning as to how Australia could have been so tardy in its over-rate, he said: “We were told that there was an over-rate problem and Ponting was trying to fix that. But the first question you''ve got to ask is: How the hell can he keep making the same mistake?”

EMAIL THIS NEWS COMMENTS No comments yet