Australian cricketers refused to blame beleaguered captain Ricky Ponting for the deflating Ashes loss to England as they returned home yesterday.
Fast bowler Stuart Clark, one of a handful of players not required for the limited-overs series in England and Scotland, said calls to replace the Australina captain were “ludicrous.”
“Ricky Ponting has got my full support and I think he’s the best man to be captain,” he told reporters at Sydney Airport. “I think it’s ludicrous that anyone says anything other.”
Opening batsman Simon Katich said the whole team must take responsibility for the second successive failure in England, both under Ponting, which toppled Australia from their long-held No. 1 Test ranking.
“There was 11 of us out there that had an opportunity to win the Ashes — you can’t just blame it on one person,” Katich said. “We had our chances throughout the whole five Tests. Unfortunately, when those chances came around, whether it was Cardiff, Lord’s, The Oval, we didn’t grab them.”
Cricket Australia has backed Ponting to stay in the job despite calls for Michael Clarke, Katich or even retired spin-master Shane Warne to take over.
Meanwhile, Ponting, who is due to arrive home later, insisted he “couldn’t be more excited about the future” in an article for the Australian newspaper.
“While we had bad sessions at Lord’s and The Oval which cost us both games, we completely dominated England at Cardiff and Leeds, showing there was little between the teams,” the captain wrote. “Coming off the back of our strong series victory in South Africa earlier in the year, I believe we’re on the right track and our younger players can only get better with experience.”
Australian media was left fuming over the defeat, with most anger directed at the selection panel.
“What hurts more than seeing England partying after a stunning Ashes win? Seeing the Poms not hit the tiles after an Ashes triumph,” said Sydney’s Daily Telegraph, referring to England’s toned-down celebrations.
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
Team Taiwan avoided missing the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time by defeating Spain 6-3 in a do-or-die game in Taipei last night. After narrowly escaping a mercy-rule loss to Spain in the WBC Qualifiers opener on Friday last week, the home team — winner of last year's WBSC Premier12 title three months ago — got their revenge against the 2023 European champions at Taipei Dome. "It felt quite different from when we won the Premier12," Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) said after the game, recalling the ups and downs the team has experienced over the past few days. Unlike in
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