Cricket Australia's decision to not give Simon Katich the contract has
obviously not gone down well with the opening batsman. According to the former
Australian batsman, it was a ridiculous decision that made no sense at all given
that he has been one of the better batsmen for the side in recent times.
Katich said that the Australian cricket board needed to make the selectors
more accountable by getting in full-time guys for the job because cricket, like
many other sports had become a business. He also added that it was not a question
about his career alone, but also of some of the others in the side as well.
He added that he hoped that something better may come out of the fact that he
was retaliating against the decision for some other guys.
Katich had been given the axe on Tuesday but he waited till Friday to vent out
his feelings after having had the time to think through the decision and compose
himself. He said that he had contemplated legal action against the cricket board
and that it was really frustrating to be dumped in the way that he had been.
Katich said that despite the disappointment, he was not the only one to have endured
the selection issues in the Australian setup. However, he added that he was not
totally surprised because he said that he understood how the board functioned
and sometimes made no sense at all.
He added that the official reason that the side was preparing for the 2013 edition
of the Ashes did not hold too much water and that his opening partnership with
Watson has been one of the high points of the cricket team.
He said that he had spoken with the cricketers' association in Australia
and while there wasn't anything that they could do, he had considered taking
legal action.
Katich also slammed the selectors' decision to name a 17-member side for the Ashes
a week before the series actually started because of the marketing demands of
Cricket Australia, saying that it gave the look of being unsettled because of
that.
Katich also lambasted the selectors' decision to not have a spinner ready even
four years after the retirement of Shane Warne, having tried 11-12 spinners
in the interim period. This has led to no consistency in the spinners, leading
to the development of none of them.
Cricket Australia said that they would not take any legal action against Katich.
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