really if you want someone to talk about the incredible day already does in cricket but also an amazing time in cricket. With the imminent T 20 series against Sri Lanka The Pakistan test coming up the end of the BBL season discussion about what’s gonna happen with 100 the IPL auction coming up there’s really no one better to talk to the channel seven commentator but also most successful Captain history of cricket and the number two top run scorer in the century score in the history of the game.
And also, more importantly a man I’m more more jealous of because he has his own range of wines whines Ricky Ponting. I wanted to get through all that and welcome because we’re going to talk a lot obviously about the big story that just just broken that Justin Langer has resigned
in the morning, guys, and more than that, the timing worked out better. Well, yeah, I mean I mean I You Are you we know you’re very influential. What What have you been hearing?
I’m not sure how influential I am within the Australian cricket setup anymore, man while I’m enjoying doing what I’m doing from afar most of most of the time these days but yeah, look, obviously I found a little while ago as well that Justin’s actually ended in his letter of resignation to cricket Australia, and that comes on the back of the a board meeting cricket Australia held yesterday. So me just trying to put the pieces together. It sounds like he must have had the full backing of the board if he had of me knowing just in the way that I do.
He was very keen to continue on in the role as he should have been on the back of what’s been you know, the first coaching period of his international career having just wanted to 20 World Cup and then the you know, the before Neil result in the ashes, it’s it seems like a very strange time for a coach to be departing. But I think, you know, as I said, reading the tea leaves it sounds like you know, a few a few and as he would say to me, a very small group of the playing group and he believes a couple of other staff around the team haven’t haven’t entirely loved the way that he’s gone about it. And that’s been enough to force a man that’s put his life and heart and soul into Australian cricket and Danna, will, I believe a sensational job in turning around the culture and the way that the Australian cricket team has been looked at over the last three or four years when enough to push him out of his dream job so I actually think it’s a really sad day as far as drying credits concerned and and if you look back, it’s been a really poor six months I think in the way that the cricket Australia as a whole have handled some of the better people in Australian cricket being Justin Langer and Tim Payne. I think it’s been almost embarrassing what the way they’ve handled those two cases. Ricky, great to have you on and especially great timing.
You talk about a small group of players, I presume you’re referring to the captain PAC Commons who refused to endorse him this week. He was asked on multiple occasions, if he should continue as coach he said he didn’t want to add to this speculation. Were you disappointed with that?
Yeah, I sort of am because look at the end of the day just as a great mate of mine. I know how passionate he is about the Australian coaching job and didn’t want to conform to continue on in that role and be the best coach and have the best cricket team in the world under his tutelage. So, but I think Pat’s also being put in a pretty difficult situation there as Captain you know, if they’re, if it’s, if it’s not just him if there are other players that are coming to him and letting him know that maybe they feel that Justin is not the right man and I think that actually puts cat in a difficult position as well. Because if it and the other thing is that, you know, deep down pat might have known as this day was coming, you know, that, that if he hadn’t grown on the front foot and endorsed Justin, then you know, there would have been in a position where they wouldn’t have been able to move on from him. So I I sort of say, Hello said I am very close to Justin. We like brothers but I’ve not got too heavily involved in this because you know, as much as just being able to give it give him a bit of a pat on the back and give him put an arm around his shoulder here and there. There’s, there’s no way that I could change the way that this looked like it was hitting. You know what’s happened today. I’ve sort of felt that has been heading that way for quite a while even looking back, you know, before the tea 20 World Cup when they had there was a lot of speculation then whether Justin was to continue on or was the right man for the job. They’ve decided to continue on within there. And he’s led them to success that they haven’t had before in the tea 20 format and then the actions like and was but it still got to the point where, you know, it’s not possible for him to continue on in the role and that’s why I say that’s why our salaries think it’s a really sad man. It’s been an amazing crew because there have been more leaks in the colander on this story. Both sides seem to be using the media and and dropping little gems. Is that Is there a sense that that some of the pressure from Justin was coming out of New South Wales and other senior players in New South Wales?
Yeah, look, once again, I don’t know. I can’t answer that.
You know, I think if we when you think about the Australian cricket team, and if it’s if it is kind of if a lot of this stuff is sort of senior player driven and led Well, a lot of the senior players in the team are from New South Wales. And that’s not I’m not actually I’m not saying that that’s is the case, but I’m just thinking of, you know, a warner Smith or Hazelwood ally and a command staff. There are a whole lot of the senior guys they’re often New South Wales now. I’m not getting in a political game and saying it’s anything to do with New South Wales. pressures that have forced Justin out but at the end of the day triggered Australia are the ones that make the decisions on whether the coach should go forward. And as far as as I said, as far as I’m concerned, I just think that the way that cricket Australia have handled this you know, never, never in my time as a player or as captain of the team did, did us as a play group ever influence what a board was thinking as far as appointments or coaches or anything like that. There was always players to decide I might have got a view and opinion here and there on on a certain coach or or whatever, but it seems this time it seems like the pliers and maybe a couple of the other as I said other personnel around the Australian cricket team might have it’s painful. It’s tricky Australian making a decision. See, you feel Ricky that since you played the balance of power has tipped too far to the players side.
All together. I think that’s that’s more than sport. I think. I think there’s a lot more I think the players in all sports now have a much bigger and more powerful voice than ever before.
You know, we’ve seen the last few years even with some AFL clubs with players refusing to go on preseason camps and things that have been organised by certain footy club. So that was yeah, that was Melbourne footy club two or three years ago, and then they come up with the premiership this year. So maybe there’s something to be said for a bit more empowerment to the players as well. But I think I think that’s just the way it is these days. Yeah. And I mean, the other thing we’ve that we have to be mindful with with the Australian creative and the coach is that there’s probably 5060 70% of the Australian players that are actually paid more than the coach now that that in itself creates a bit of a power issue as well. I feel I might name another sport in a world where that happens.
I think of an AFL club now there’s might there might be one player that’s similar to what the coach you know, the best coaches are on well, you know, there’s a whole lot of these guys in Australian cricket now that that certainly paid a lot more than what the head coaches do a couple of things we need to talk about. But the first and the obvious question is, I believe that the board has bought a cricket Australia also looked at other candidates, as coaches. What are you hearing there who is DeVito? Good luck.
I mean, a couple of times that I keep hearing, Andrew MacDonald and for the bios, his name is the one that’s been thrown back in over the last the last couple of months. as well.
Trevor from New South Wales, Coach England, scamp has come back to Australia being back in the big bash for just this one season. So he’s back in Australian domestic cricket again.
In life, a lot of people talk about him as being well, he’s been a successful coach most places that he’s been so I mean McDonald and balance the nice long hearing David you don’t you think would probably stay on an assistance roll Jeff forms there and in the system’s role, Australians him now and there’s a lot of really high praise for him. But how many other things I talked about Matt as well that they’re talking about potentially splitting the rolls and having a white ball coach and a red ball coach. So there’s all these balls that are sort of in the air at the moment. And now the Justin’s made the decision today, I’m sure I’m sure whenever the outcome of a lot of these filling, filling a lot of these roles and then a couple of weeks, we’re talking to former Australian cricket captain and channel commentator Ricky Ponting. On the back of the I think shot music. I think we’re going to spectate through this is going to take longer but the resignation of Justin Langer as Australian cricket coach him this idea of you’ve played obviously, why both forms ago right and red ball. Do you think it’s a smart idea to separate to separate the teams to separate the coaching duties between those two forms again? No I don’t match actually, I think if you can find the right person that’s willing to give up you know, 10 or 11 months of the year to be the full time Australian cricket coach, then in an ideal world, that’s the person that you would go for looking into that’s a highly pressurised job as you know, as Justin what he’s been through the last couple of years and you are away from home a lot. You know, we’ve COVID has had the last couple years of COVID put more pressure on the players more pressure on the coaches. I mean, Justin hasn’t been he hasn’t been and seeing his family back in person September. So he’s on a plane back to Perth now for the first time since September. So and there they are, they are the extra challenges that come with it. So and I think that’s one of the reasons they’re talking about splitting it up means that this one coach is not under all this extreme pressure for the whole 10 or 11 months of every year, which is generally what you spend away from your own home if you’re in the Australian cricket setup. So but and the reason I say that I mean I think as I say you find the right person that’s willing to commit I think it’s really important for from a player’s point of if I put myself in a player’s point of view now I want the same coach I want to be hearing similar messages day in day out whether whether that’s about my wife or cricket or my red ball cricket. Because if, if so much of coaching and leadership is about communication and being able to communicate well then the most important thing is the relationship between the player and the coach and understanding each other well. So I think if you start putting two or three different people in these roles, I think there could be a lot more confusion there than needs to be. Are you disappointed with the way this is played out Ricky from the point of view of do there need to be repercussions and feels like in Australian cricket right now we should be celebrating the men’s ashes, the women’s ashes, the T 20 World Cup, and instead we’re in a situation where a coach has had so much success, and he’s felt like he needed to resign before entering those quote unquote, private negotiations.
Yeah, look, it should be a time of celebration you’re absolutely spot on. But instead, you know, you and Matt and I and everyone would you know all media across Australia for next probably we’re going to be talking about the way this whole situation has been handled the fact that Justin is not the Australian cricket coach anymore.
You know, the other thing as well is there’s also some great challenges coming up for the Australian cricket team with a couple of sub continental tools and places where they haven’t been in Pakistan in a long time. You know, haven’t got a great record playing in Sri Lanka. These are all great challenges and Justin would have wanted to know except an on the back of what they’ve just done, you know, been a great challenge for him and his group, and now he’s not going to be there so that it takes that away from him as well. But um, and the other thing I’ll keep bringing up if you know, one o’clock back sort of three four months ago, he put the whole team pain issue on top of all that as well and the way that cricket Australia handled that I don’t think they’ve covered and covered themselves in glory over the last few months and and to be totally honest with you. I don’t think a lot of these issues like this. I don’t think recruiting Australia has handled well in my time being involved, as in Australian cricket. You know, there’s some of these incidents that and that’s not just coming from me who’s obviously been a pirate captain, but the general public will actually sit back and say what on earth is what are they doing? Why are they doing this? Why they’re handling these situations? What they are.
That’s generally that’s the feeling I get anywhere from the average punter in the street. I mean, these are stressful times and stressful for you because your your great friendship with them with Alfie.
What? How do you de stress your turn to your turn to eggs and bacon is a what do you do in order to relieve some of that pressure now now that you’re accommodated now really? You’re going to be bombarded with phone calls. I’m sure your phone is going crazy right now.
Yeah, when I’m finished to turn my phone off, I think for the rest.
Thanks for taking our call Rick.
This might be the last one forgotten.
I look like it on the golf course. I go take me under my younger son fishing. You know, we try and get away from when we get away down to the coast time that I can during this sort of time of the year as well. And then that’s, you know, it’s really important to me, my model year is not you know, it’s sort of busy in clumps with IPO for 10 weeks, sort of April. May and into June and then a few months off during the middle of the year then obviously with the channel seven commitment starts so the November go through until sort of last week so and that’s pretty busy sort of time so when I when I am sort of really under the pump it’s just about finding something outside of actually talking about cricket that’s the important thing for me. I mean I love talking about cricket love my job, but I’ve also found a way to have some advices and fishing whether that’s golf or as you say the wine business that we’ve got going it’s taken a bit of time the last couple of years. It’s just important that I’ve got other things I know just as well now he’s he was never a golfer at all what Jerry’s put during his playing days. Robin could not getting on the golf course, in the life of me but the last the last probably 12 months where things are probably being the most stressful for him. He’s turned into the biggest golf junkie, you can imagine. I’m pretty sure for the next 12 months we’ll be playing a lot of golf.
A little bit of a Zen Swing Time rather than trying to trash it. You mentioned IPL obviously we’ve got the IPL auction coming up. You’ve been that you’ve been you’ve been involved obviously as a coach 47 Australian names there who do you think it’s gonna go for that for the most money and how does the auction actually work?
Oh, it’s a really complicated it’s a really complicated auction. Actually. I think there was 1300 players are nominated for the auction this year, I think that’s been cut down to about that’s been cut down to about 800 million have been accepted into the auction. And then those players get put in categories. So I think the first category is like the marquee players that the 10 players in that that’s all the sort of highest rent. Soviet sugar down at David Warner repet Cummins diesel guys, they all go in one group at the at the top, and they listed from one to 10 in that group, but when the auction starts the auctioneer gets up on stage with a bag with marbles in it and pulls one out with number eight on it and then you look at on the list of number eight is and that might be Chica Darwin for instance, and then the bidding starts from there. So so the way the mega auctions coming up, this is the mega auction so we’re each team was allowed to keep four players from last year released the rest back into the auction.
And then you’ve got a salary cap that you’re going to work within to pick up the next seven, eight or 18 players that you want to add to your squad. So talk about stressful I’ve been on the phone to Delhi and zooms calls with Delhi every night for the last couple of weeks trying to get a sound strategy in place to try and put together a team and a squad that we think can can challenge for the IPO time again this season. Ricky how much of that money because we’re talking millions of dollars in sales. For the marquee players how much of that money to the players get to keep what sort of money are they the net event every every Sunday if I play if I play every game are available to selections for every game and all missing brings it out though. They’ll get every cent of that money. So if there’s certainly some huge money out there I think the salary caps for each team now is probably around the 15 million US dollar mark.
Why are you putting I mean, yeah, I think Pat camo won’t last auction might have been I think it might have been over 3 million money three point something million made for that for the IPO. Yeah, so it is very, very liquidy that’s for sure. So obviously slyness and mackerel after that. I mean, not after the not but then amazing, not for the stars in the BBL game, that they’re already there.