We are not addressing holes in production line: Chappell

New Delhi: Batsmen in the mould of, or, as talented as Michael Clarke or the retired Ricky Ponting, may never be seen in Australia again if the "holes in the production line" are not addressed by the country`s cricket administrators, says former great Ian Chappell.

"We are not addressing the fact that there are holes in the production line," Chappell said.
"If you think about it, Ponting, (Michael) Hussey and Clarke, you would have to say are the last of that sort of generation who learnt how to survive those tough periods."

Chappell questioned Australia`s methods of producing talented batsmen.

"For instance, I have seen the next lot of batsmen at the Under-19 level World Cup and I have not seen any change in what`s happening."

"So I`ve got to ask the question, if our methods of producing batsmen don`t seem to be working, and in my opinion they are not, why aren`t we trying to do some other things?" Chappell said.

He said that the "core problem" facing Australian cricket at the moment needed to be fixed first.

"I don`t hear these things being talked about and it`s just a matter of will we change the coach, will we bring in a new high-performance (manager), those things are not going to make one bit of a difference. Fix up the core problem and then we might start to get somewhere.

"The problem with that being, if we fix up the core problem tomorrow, you are talking about another generation before you really start to reap the benefits. So there are some major problems that I see in Australian cricket and I don`t think they are being addressed." 

As far as batting in tough conditions were concerned, Chappell cited two innings played by Clarke and Ponting during Ashes 2009 and 2005 respectively.

"The classic examples are -- Clarke at Lord`s in 2009. It was a magnificent innings against brilliant bowling from Jimmy Anderson and Andrew Flintoff. In my opinion, that`s the best innings I have ever seen from Clarke.

And Ponting`s innings at Old Trafford in 2005 to save the Test match -- 156 I think he got. Magnificent innings, back to the wall save the Test match type innings.

"That should be standard fare for other Australian Test batsmen. But at the moment you would say, when Michael Clarke retires, that may be the end of that style of batsman."

Referring to the Australian batsmen`s just-concluded disastrous tour of India, Chappell said, "It`s easy to be patient when you know that you`ve got the technique and the wherewithal to cope with spin bowling under those conditions.

"Because you know that eventually you can hang around long enough to start to pick up the runs and get things going and then the boundaries come. Then you`ve got a chance of making a big score.

"But if you don`t have faith in your technique and your ability to survive, that`s when the panic sets in. So it`s got nothing to do with being impatient, it`s much more to do with your technique and your non-belief in that technique that brings on the panic."