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Australia need Steve Waugh as coach: Jones
Former Australian skipper Dean Jones has said that the national team needs Steve Waugh as its coach for resurrection.
Melbourne:
Lambasting the decision-making in Cricket Australia post Ashes debacle, former cricketer Dean Jones on Friday said the national team needs Steve Waugh as its coach for resurrection.
In an indirect attack on current coach Tim Nielsen, Jones said the Board should not give the serious job of coaching to those who do not have any experience of playing Test cricket.
Nilesen had played 101 first-class games for South Australia but never played international cricket.
Australia suffered a crushing 1-3 defeat against England in the just concluded Ashes series.
"It's time for Steve Waugh to coach the team and to get Cricket Australia to start employing blokes who have played a bit of international cricket.
"Some of the young kids coming through state cricket, we kiss them on the backside and cajole them along, and that's fine, but ultimately some truths have to be said," Jones said.
The former batsman also came down heavily on shot selection and temperament of a few batsmen in the national side but again held Nielsen responsible for such mistakes.
"(Truths) about guys getting out in the last over of the day, all this silly stuff like flashing outside the off stump. If they (the coaches) have never played for Australia, they (the players) get away with it.
"But the players respect you if you've been there, done that. All the great AFL coaches have been there done that," Jones told Herald Sun.
"All the coaches around Australia have never played for Australia. You have to get tertiary education to be a coach now, but you can't get that qualification if you're too busy being the best (players) in the world," Jones said while emphasising the fact that system demands former players to get a certificate in order to coach.
The Aussie however said that the current bashing at the English hands was not the end of world for them.
"Occasionally you've got to look at it and say, 'you're not good enough, lads'. And I think there's a fair bit more rubbish to go through. I don't think we've hit rock bottom yet," Jones said.
In an indirect attack on current coach Tim Nielsen, Jones said the Board should not give the serious job of coaching to those who do not have any experience of playing Test cricket.
Nilesen had played 101 first-class games for South Australia but never played international cricket.
Australia suffered a crushing 1-3 defeat against England in the just concluded Ashes series.
"It's time for Steve Waugh to coach the team and to get Cricket Australia to start employing blokes who have played a bit of international cricket.
"Some of the young kids coming through state cricket, we kiss them on the backside and cajole them along, and that's fine, but ultimately some truths have to be said," Jones said.
The former batsman also came down heavily on shot selection and temperament of a few batsmen in the national side but again held Nielsen responsible for such mistakes.
"(Truths) about guys getting out in the last over of the day, all this silly stuff like flashing outside the off stump. If they (the coaches) have never played for Australia, they (the players) get away with it.
"But the players respect you if you've been there, done that. All the great AFL coaches have been there done that," Jones told Herald Sun.
"All the coaches around Australia have never played for Australia. You have to get tertiary education to be a coach now, but you can't get that qualification if you're too busy being the best (players) in the world," Jones said while emphasising the fact that system demands former players to get a certificate in order to coach.
The Aussie however said that the current bashing at the English hands was not the end of world for them.
"Occasionally you've got to look at it and say, 'you're not good enough, lads'. And I think there's a fair bit more rubbish to go through. I don't think we've hit rock bottom yet," Jones said.
Topics mentioned in this article
Cricket
Australia Cricket Team
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