Sydney, Nov. 15 : Australian cricket captain Ricky Ponting, team coach Tim Nielsen and the cricket selectors ignored the basics of the game, and that is why they lost the series to India in India two nil, claims former player and noted commentator Peter Roebuck.

Responding to Ponting’s criticism of his write-ups during the series, Roebuck said that Ponting’s leadership was questionable and his field settings were contrived, but added that the pitches were also partly to blame for the final result.

“Ponting often seemed to be captaining by formula as opposed to instinct. In his younger days he had a strong grasp of the mood of a match and an urgent desire to intervene. He was a leader, urging his players along, suggesting ruses to his captain. Moreover, his ideas were often astute. As a batsman, too, he hooked and clipped and seized the initiative. His only weak point was a hot temper and a fondness for grog, a combination that periodically put him in strife,” Roebuck writes in an article for the Sydney Morning Herald.

He said that Ponting needed to reconsider his approach to captaincy; otherwise Australia would lose to South Africa and England in the next nine months.

“Perhaps he could learn from Mahendra Dhoni, a man from a similar background,” Roebuck said.

He said that as far as the Nagpur Test was concerned, there were errors galore.

“Brad Haddin threw his glove at an escaping ball, thereby incurring a five-run penalty. Michael Clarke did not intercept a shy at the stumps because he was tying up his boot laces. Next day, Clarke was pushed up the order despite feeling generally unwell. Three top-order batsmen were run out, two of them recklessly. The chase itself was poorly constructed,” said Roebuck.

There were other glaring mistakes, and to add to it all, Australia had little luck with the toss, says Roebuck.

“Ponting and company are entitled to their opinions about these issues but must not be bogged down by them. Now the Australian captain needs to respond to his inner voices and ignore the rest. He has plenty of character, but spark has been lost,” he concludes. (ANI)