This is the best we've got
Ricky Ponting writes in the Daily Mail that there is no point clamouring for some star to appear from outside the Australian tour party while Merv Hughes says in All Out Cricket it's not the batsman who are to blame.
23-Jul-2013
Many Australians are clamouring for his return to the Test side but there's no going back for Ricky Ponting. He is forced to watch and suffer like the rest of his countrymen but believes it is no time for panic. He writes in the Daily Mail that the current tour party are the best Australia have and there is no point trying to look elsewhere for a star or two to turn this series around.
"Let's get one thing clear. Australia cannot flick a switch and suddenly everything will be all right. We are not going to have a big group of young promising players all coming through to make things better. There are no better players outside this group who could come to the rescue but that doesn't mean there isn't a lot of talent in this Australia team. It is just that many of them are having to find their feet in the biggest series of them all."
Meanwhile, Merv Hughes - he of the swerve - is still concerned about the bowling attack. The bowlers have been the one positive for Australia, causing problems with the new ball in both Tests but Merv, in All Out Cricket says the criticism of the batsman has wrongly taken all of the blame for Australia's struggles.
"I still don't think we're performing particularly well as a bowling unit. Ryan Harris was a huge positive at Lord's and all the bowlers are bowling some good balls at stages but we're not putting England's batsmen under constant pressure. Is Jackson Bird going to come into the equation? I think he should."