Taylor puts future in the balance (5 April 1998)

5 April 1998

Taylor puts future in the balance

By Peter Roebuck

AN old Tamil couplet says that: "The great and not so great are remembered by what they leave behind." Soon it may be time to judge the legacy of Mark Taylor.

It has been an extraordinary season in Australia, a season in which South Africa and New Zealand were beaten, the World Series was won, the captaincy was divided, 29 players wore Australian colours and a strike was narrowly avoided. Last week the picture grew even hazier.

Taylor landed at Sydney airport where reporters were waiting to ask his intentions following the 2-1 Test series defeat in India. Meanwhile Steve Waugh, aghast at his friend's timing, was preparing his team for a one-day tournament in lizard-scuttling heat. Mark Waugh was showing the best form of a career largely spent thinking about horses, Shane Warne was trying to change from Toad of Toad Hall to Mr Badger and Ricky Ponting was trying to live down front page headlines and a stiff fine imposed for jostling a woman in a nightclub. And all of them are contenders.

Observers within the Australian party had expected Taylor to step down after the Bangalore Test. His form had slumped again and his team had been badly beaten. Moreover he had seemed unusually agitated to lose his wicket cheaply in the first innings. His time was up. Taylor appeared almost light-hearted as he began his second innings, as if he had given himself licence at last. He was moving sharply and his shots had the crispness of a frosty winter's morning. He was a different batsman.

Next came the press conference. Taylor spoke out against the idea of splitting the captaincy. He argued that a team divided against itself will fall. He added that the atmosphere in the Australian squad had changed and he could feel his team slipping from his grasp. Accordingly, he intended to stand aside as Test captain unless the selectors could find a secure place for him in their one-day team.

It was an honourable statement from a man committed to protecting the dignity of his office. Taylor confirmed that he intended to continue as a batsman, as well he might, having scored four hundreds in 15 Test matches, carrying his bat against South Africa and resembling Winnie the Pooh with a pot of honey in Bangalore.

Taylor has forced the issue and it may bring his captaincy to an end because it is hard to see the selectors changing their minds, though Allan Border is now among their number. Taylor is not worth his place in the 50-overs team. Dividing the captaincy was simply a way of keeping him in charge of the Test team while recognising the need to improve one-day performances. It was a leap into the dark. Now that Taylor has rejected the idea he must fall.

Accordingly, attention turns to the succession. Steve Waugh is the front runner because he is vicecaptain and has been leading the one-day team. Critics, though, say he is too concerned with squeezing every last drop from his own game to think about anyone else. Waugh is grim on the field and reluctant to trust his instincts. A fellow can spend too long in the waiting room. But Australia did win their World Series, and he is the senior man and commands respect among the players.

Mark Waugh might be the best choice now that he is putting his head down regularly. Perhaps he sensed the sands of time running out. Young cricketers think themselves immortal, old players realise it's now or never. Waugh, though, has not much experience and his promotion would be a gamble.

Shane Warne is favoured by the old warlords on television. He has a strong sense of team, in Calcutta volunteered to bowl once again because he could see Michael Kasprowicz was a beaten man. He also captains Victoria and led Australia capably in his only opportunity. But he is a rough and ready sort and officials fear, with some reason, that he would take the team in the wrong direction. It is too early for Ponting, a roisterer prone to lapses. He has matured as a batsman and shows tactical acumen and will captain Australia in time.

Doubtless the England cricketers are hoping to take advantage of these confusions next winter. Taylor has been an outstanding captain. Now he is concerned about his legacy. Has the old order run its course? Have old ways lost their legitimacy? Taylor does not think so and his comments were an attempt to restore the authority and singularity of Australian captains hereafter. The game is afoot. Selectors from other countries will be watching with interest.

Source :: Electronic Telegraph (https://www.telegraph.co.uk)