Better off without Warne
Malcolm Conn writes in the Australian that as much as Australia would like to have Shane Warne bowling for them in India, the team itself is more unified without him.
Brydon Coverdale
25-Feb-2013
Malcolm Conn writes in the Australian that as much as Australia would like to have Shane Warne bowling for them in India, the team itself is more unified without him.
Ponting is gun-barrel straight, has a tremendous work ethic and desire for success he expects other to share, and has no political agendas. That's why he and Lee have no lingering issues in the way Warne used to take them into the dressing room and on to the field. When Taylor struggled during the 1996-97 summer Warne was the first to begin muttering "How's Tubby's form?"
There was almost a mutiny during the South African tour that followed when Ian Healy and Steve Waugh lined up for the one-day captaincy as Taylor's form slump continued. And Warne, miffed at missing out on the captaincy when Taylor retired, made no attempt to hide his disdain for Waugh during the difficult early stages of the 1999 World Cup.
Waugh had dropped Warne in the West Indies earlier that year because he had not fully recovered from a shoulder operation, and Warne never forgave him. "How's Tugga going," Warne would repeat on the field as Australia struggled at the start of the 1999 World Cup. "How's Tugga going." There is no mutiny in the current Australian side, just a lot of soul-searching after last Tuesday's thumping 320-run loss.
Brydon Coverdale is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo. He tweets here