Cricket Australia had it coming. The cracks had been getting more and more visible and it was only a matter of time before they were to be slammed hard by a disgruntled soul. Previous axed cricketers were probably not as strong as Simon Katich and probably had not shown any kind of performance to back the kind of words that Katich would go on to use against Cricket Australia β which is why the board seemed to have escaped βcensureβ from them.
Not Katich, who, for the second time lost his contract for reasons which have barely been explained by the Cricket Australia. When the list of contracted players were announced for Australia two days back, it was a surprise to see that there were two who lost their place β Marcus North and Katich. With the kind of batting performance that Katich has shown in the last two or three years, it was the last thing one would expect β to be bracketed with North.
In a no-holds bar press conference, Katich said, βIβm extremely disappointed and frustrated with the decision that I found out about on Tuesday. I want to make it clear that I know Iβm not the only player who has gone through this in the last couple of years due to inconsistent selection policies. I just hope that something good comes out of this situation because I actually think the decision that came on Tuesday was absolutely ridiculous.β
Strong words those, especially when he speaks about the selection policies having affected not only him but also some of the others in the team β he has cited the examples of the way spinners have been treated and the manner in which a 17-member side was named for the Ashes. To add to these words, Katich also said that it was not a matter of the selectors alone, it was also about the way Cricket Australia had gone about their business, having ratified the decisions of these selectors.
Have a look at the statistics. Since January 1, 2008, Katich averages 50.5 with the bat. Against no team in that period does his average go below 36, and apart from England, he averages more than 40 against all. Since January 1, 2009, his average drops marginally to 48, while averaging a similar 47 since the start of 2010. So, there is nothing by the way of statistics to speak of any rationale behind the axing.
Does the presence of Greg Chappell as one of the selectors have anything to do with this?