CRICKET:Mike Selvey
STABBING international cricket captains from long distance, Mike Atherton might recall, has been a peculiarly English disease. But now Australia, riddled with self-doubt after a disastrous start to their tour, including the 3-0 whitewash in the Texaco series, have been infected.
Their chairman of selectors Trevor Hohns this week said that if the beleaguered captain Mark Taylor has trouble falling on his own sword, he would be willing to push the blade home himself.
Taylor is in the worst form of his life and has held on to the captaincy only because of his side’s exceptional Test record. But, with no Test half-century to his name since late 1995, personal failures in the first two one-day internationals last weekend and his omission from the third, the tour has reached a crisis point even before the first Ashes Test.
At Bristol on Tuesday Taylor, desperately scrabbling for form, was caught at the wicket for a duck, and he has only three possible innings to reverse the trend before the opening Test in Birmingham next Friday
Before the tour Taylor had indicated he would reassess his position after a month, and if necessary stand down in favour of his vice-captain Steve Waugh. In effect this would give him two Tests in which to come good. But England’s stirring one-day triumph has caused a rethink in the Australia camp, some members of which might wonder how long they can carry someone simply for his leadership.
On tour matters of selection are in the hands of a committee comprising Taylor, Waugh and the team coach Geoff Marsh. But Marsh has already indicated he does not regard it as in his brief to drop an Australia captain while on tour, and Waugh almost certainly would not want to be accused of instigating a coup.
So if Taylor is to be dethroned it seems he must be persuaded to do it himself or risk the intervention from afar.
Speaking from Queensland, Hohns suggested it would be preferable for Taylor to make up his own mind. ”He is the sort of person who, if he is not travelling all that well as a player, would probably make the decision himself,” he said.
”But occasionally difficult decisions have to be made regarding team selection. I am happy to make such decisions for the tour selectors if necessary and that would include a decision about Mark’s captaincy.”