Shane Warne Slams Ricky Ponting's Decision To Bowl First At Edgbaston In 2005 Ashes

Former Australia spinner Shane Warne has slammed Ricky Ponting for his decision to bowl first at Edgbaston in the famous 2005 Ashes series.

Continuing to make some head-turning remarks in his book No Spin, Shane Warne has now taken a shot at his former teammate and skipper Ricky Ponting. The legendary spinner called Ricky Ponting’s decision to bowl first at Edgbaston “the worst decision made by a captain I played under”. The ex-leggie also revealed that not all was well with the Australian camp during the series as England registered a remarkable win against the odds.

Shane Warne feels the decision at Edgbaston brought about the Australian downfall in the series regarded as one of the greatest ever. The spinner went on to claim that the decision to bowl first was down to Australian arrogance and statistics rather than taking into account the circumstances.

“Ricky’s decision was a shocker, presumably thinking that one good morning with the ball would finish England off,” Warne wrote. “He didn’t rate the English batting and it cost him, and us. Here is the truth. Forget anything else you’ve heard or read. Ricky relied on John Buchanan’s stats, which indicated that the bowl-first, bat-last tactic at Edgbaston won more games than it lost. He looked back at the filthy weather of the previous few days, not forward, and made an assumption about the pitch having moisture in it. Wrong!

“It was a belter, an absolute road, which was to spin later in the game. He ignored McGrath’s injury because arrogance refused to let him believe England could play. The entire series was defined right there, at Edgbaston, when Ricky was blind to the cricketing facts in front of him. England were thrown a huge bone and fed from it for the rest of the series.

“I rate it as the worst decision made by a captain I played under, just topping the charts ahead of Steve Waugh when he made India follow-on [at Kolkata in 2001], because it was based on arrogance about the opposition and our own supposed invincibility, not the cricketing facts,” he added.

Well, England had made the most of batting first. The hosts became  the first team to hit 400 runs in a first day of Test cricket against Australia since 1938. A freak injury that Glenn McGrath sustained before the match during a warm-up (playing rugby) made England’s task easier early on. The hosts piled on 407 in just 79.2 overs. Australia, in reply, were all out for 308.

The visitors then did well to bowl out England for 182 and get a target of 282. Australia had gone on to lose the thriller by 2 runs.

Warne, meanwhile, further said that the then coach John Buchanan had nearly caused a mutiny in the team. The reason was that Buchanan had questioned the players’ desire to win and wear the baggy cap after the loss.

“On the bus on the way back to the hotel after the game, John Buchanan called a team meeting. I was like, ‘Oh no, what’s he going to say now?’,” Warne wrote. “We collected in the team room and he started with an obvious line, something like, ‘We didn’t play very well again this game.’ Yep, true, Buck. Then he said, ‘But why didn’t we play well?’ Maybe you tell us, Buck. So he did.

“It was along the lines of ‘I don’t think you blokes care enough and, playing like you are, I don’t think you’re worthy of wearing the baggy green cap.’ I could sense the rage bubbling in the room and could feel it burning inside me, but I waited for the captain, anyone, to say some-thing. Everyone sat there quietly, heads down, no-one willing to get involved. I thought, ‘To hell with this,’ stood up and said, ‘Buck, don’t you ever tell me I don’t care enough and that I’m not worthy of wearing the baggy green cap. I’ve busted my balls for a long time, so has everyone else in this room, so how about we just play and you keep your thoughts to yourself.’

“McGrath said, ‘I’m with Warney.’ Magilla said, ‘I’m with Warney too.’ Ricky Ponting was like, ‘Hey, hey, alright, calm down, you blokes.’ I said, ‘F*** this meeting, I’m not taking this shit from him,’ and started to walk out.”

Shane Warne, who at the time was dealing with the breakup of his marriage, was miffed by Buchanan’s words as he did not hesitate in venting his anger.

“There is no-one who can say I’m not worthy of the baggy green – no-one,” he wrote. “John Buchanan would have no idea how much blood and sweat I’ve put in, never mind the tears, especially on that tour. That’s not just me either, it’s all the guys. We’ve all busted our guts and given it everything.

“Punter said, ‘Hey, let’s calm down.’ But I had mentally gone. ‘This meeting is over, Punt,’ I said, and was out of there. Buck never really understood when to make a point and when not. It was like he couldn’t judge the moment. He thought he knew us but he didn’t. And that was proved time and time again with these ridiculous meetings.”

Coming to the 2005 series, England had gone on to beat the Ricky Ponting-led side it to claim their first Ashes after 16 years. Australia have not won a series in England since that famous tour.