Australia Cricket / Ralph Ellis / 23 December 2008 / Leave a comment

With his team floundering and his selections questioned, the Australian captain is resorting to bad habits, says Ralph Ellis.

It may be wishful thinking. After all there's an Ashes summer coming next year. But could there really be the first signs that the great era of Australian cricket is coming to an end?

It isn't only that South Africa have just scored the second highest winning total in Test history - 414 for four - to beat the Aussies. It's the way they've reacted to that defeat in Perth that makes you wonder if the moment Shane Warne retired his spinning fingers the country's cricket would inevitably go into decline.

If we thought we had problems with Monty Panesar for failing to stop the Indians running up a record total to win the first Test, imagine what it must be like for the Aussies. They handed Warne's mantle to off-spinner Jason Krejza who came up with one wicket for 204! Not surprisingly he's been binned for the next Test that starts on Boxing Day in Melbourne, but the only replacement is 27-year-old Nathan Hauritz whose career so far has brought him just 77 first class wickets at an average of 48.

While the rest of this morning's papers focus on England's problems - and Kevin Pietersen's little spat with Yuvraj Singh the 'pie-thrower' - the Daily Mail's Chris Foy has checked out the news from Down Under. And it makes interesting reading, especially with the Aussies [2.38] favourites to win the Melbourne Test despite their problems. That looks like one to lay because people are backing reputations rather than the current teams.

Captain Ricky Ponting is a great leader when things are going well, but can come up with enough gripes and moans when he's getting beaten to make Arsene Wenger look like a good loser. Remember how he threw a tantrum about England's use of specialist substitute fielders when he got run out in the 2005 Ashes series? Well he's at it again.

Ponting tried to blame his side's failure in bowling out the South Africans on the pitch in Perth, calling it 'slow' and 'placid'. That upset WACA chief executive Graeme Wood who said: 'when you are 162 for seven in the second innings you can't point fingers at the wicket. One side got 20 wickets, one side didn't. The last time I looked at the laws it's a five day game.' And there has also been huge criticism Down Under of the decision to keep Brett Lee and Matthew Hayden in the team when both are totally out of form.

The South Africans, one up with two to play, are quite rightly odds on at [1.72] to win the series. So why should the Australians be favourites to win the next Test?

Five things you might not know about Ricky Ponting

1. Born in Launceston in 1974, he was the youngest Tasmanian ever to score a first class century

2. He was nicknamed 'Punter' by Shane Warne when both were at the Australian Cricket Academy for his love of greyhound racing

3. He's the only cricketer to have twice scored more than 1,500 runs in a calendar year (in 2003 and 2005)

4. He and his wife Rianna are both superstitious - and think 14 is their lucky number

5. He is a two-handicap golfer (exact handicap 1.7)