Australia Cricket / Frank Gregan / 27 July 2010 /

A poor summer in England means the legendary captain may struggle to hold his position as leader of the Baggy Greens

There are many ways to describe Australian cricket supporters - cocky, brash and arrogant spring to mind - but one thing is for sure, they've been happy with the performances of their players for the last 20 years or so. There's been a hitch or two along the way, mainly concerning their failure to win the last two Ashes series in the Northern Hemisphere but all in all the Aussie fan is used to winning.

There's a lot of national pride Down Under but the county is so vast that there's a lot of state pride involved as well. I saw a classic example of this whilst living in New South Wales and serving with soldiers from all over Australia. The Aussies were playing a Test series against the Indians and we were watching David Boon, a Tasmanian, battering the Indians as he had done the whole series. He was out for another high score and as he made his way back to the pavilion a wag in the Army mess we were watching the game shouted "typical of Boon, never makes a run when it matters." The Tasmanian soldiers were shaking their heads in disbelief but the rest nodded and grunted their agreement.

As well as being the world's greatest gloaters, the Aussie supporters also have the patience of a Jack Russell (the dog, not the wicket keeper) which is dying for a pee and watching its owner put their coat on. Their team's recent form will be the cause of concern everywhere except Tasmania.

Ricky Ponting can do no wrong in his home state but on the mainland they will be reflecting on a dreadful tour of England; defeat in the One Day Series against the Poms, beaten in the Twenty20 by Pakistan and unable to win the Test Series against a side that is getting more heat than BP!

Defeat in the second Test against Pakistan is likely to ensure that Ponting will end his career without captaining a side to victory in a Test series on English soil. He's had to endure some miserable times over here but he has taken them with good grace, he's a class act.

He's stated publicly that if he oversees a home defeat during the upcoming Ashes series he will likely be shown the door. That prophecy might come true sooner than he thinks, he has a very difficult tour of India to get through and a tricky one day series against the Sri Lankans in Australia before taking on the English. Defeats in both series would cause panic amongst the Aussie supporters who would rather lose a kidney than the Ashes on home soil.

The Australian media is every bit as savage as it is over here and Ponting may have to fight for his cricketing life if they under perform against the Indians. The Tasmanian will find out pretty sharpish that the Tasmanian Examiner doesn't pack the same kind of punch as The Australian.

Ponting will always have the support of the Tasmanians but the rest of the states will show him no sentiment. Beating the English is always their number one priority and if they had to make Ned Kelly skipper in order to do so then they'd find a way to raise the dead and pardon the guilty!

Ponting hinted before leaving England that he would like to still be around when the Aussies return in 2013. That's what's sports psychologists refer to as 'not staying in the moment.' 2013 is the least of the Tasmanian's worries, he needs to focus on the here and now and making sure he's still in charge when the Ashes get underway in November in Brisbane.

Pakistan's historic win against Ponting and his men has had little effect on the markets for the Test series against the English that gets underway on Thursday. Betfairians seem to be of the opinion that the Pakistani win was a flash in the pan and the [2.16] available on England to get off to a winning start looks to be good value.

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