Melbourne, Dec.31 (ANI): Australia's cricket selectors continues to face flak in the wake of the national team's two-nil series defeat to South Africa.

The Andrew Hilditch-led committee is being accused of muddled thinking that has contributed in a large measure to the end of a sustained period of world domination in the sport.

That includes three successive World Cups, home-and-away wins against every Test-playing nation of note, a Champions Trophy and an undefeated home Test series run of 15 years, an achievement anybody would be proud of, but, when times turn sour, it's a double-edged sword.

The inevitability of Australia's slide should not hide, nor excuse, the selection and management issues that have beset the team and exacerbated its decline. According to a Fox Sports analysis, Hilditch has presided over 15 successive changes to the Test team, suggesting on the one hand that flux is to be expected after the retirements of Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Adam Gilchrist and others; while on the other, it highlights Australia's lack of preparation for those retirements.

The biggest cock-up of the summer has involved Australia's handling of mercurial all-rounder Andrew Symonds.

The Fox Sports report has described his removal from the national squad in July and his recall for the Test series against New Zealand and South Africa as "mystifying and disgraceful."

It says that the selectors should be held accountable for the fact that Symonds played even one game for his country this season, as it was common knowledge inside Queensland that he was not in the right frame of mind to play Test cricket after his 'Gone Fishing' saga.

"He is no longer the player they think he is - his head is not right," one Bulls player said.

If that wasn't enough, the fact Symonds barely scored a run for his state should have set alarm bells ringing. But no, Symonds was allowed to resume his Test career at the expense of Shane Watson, a younger man who excelled in India.

The communication over Symonds's fitness heading into Melbourne was risible. Chairman of selectors Hilditch said that Symonds was fit "as far as I know" the day before captain Ricky Ponting called his mate "a day-to-day proposition". Roy's inclusion was a throwback to the times when Aussie selectors could pick on autopilot and the team would do the rest. Those days are over.

Australia's spin cycle is another glaringly obvious problem. Since Warne's exit two years ago, Australia has flirted with seven spinners and looks no closer to a resolution.

Jason Krejza was almost a chancy find in India, but, instead of counting their blessings, the selectors halted his career after Perth and incongruously plumped for Nathan Hauritz.

It is to be hoped that the selectors show greater faith in the likes of Doug Bollinger and Ben Hilfenhaus, particularly with Lee's days looking numbered. Australia's next breed of Test quicks need to be developed.

The bottleneck created by Australia's golden era has probably worked in Hayden's favour, with the out-of-form, aging, opening batsman keeping his spot despite the likes of Phil Hughes, Shaun Marsh and Michael Klinger pressing strong claims.

Hayden warranted tolerance by dint of his imposing record, certainly while the home series against South Africa was alive, but Australia's rebuilding should start here and now.

Batsmen younger and in better form have been axed by Australia in the past - Dean Jones and Mark Waugh are standout examples - and, unlike the attack, Australia's batting is solid enough, if overall lacking in confidence right now. It can sustain the loss of a 37-year-old who has scored 79 runs in seven innings this summer.

Ponting's critics have been out in force this series, but it is hard to see what the captain could have done to stop the rot.

He has always been a more defensively minded leader than Steve Waugh. His policies - to reintroduce night watchmen, to not enforce follow-ons, to set more cautious fields - were fine when Australia kept on winning, but somehow not when they were beaten by superior outfits India and South Africa.

But where once four or five genuine greats of the game were in the one team, only one remains: Ponting himself.

There is no dressing up the fact that Australia's salad days have run dry, and that times might get worse before they get better.

But unless the powers act with resolve and think with clarity, Australia's road back to the top will be unnecessarily long and winding, the report concludes. (ANI)

London, Dec.31 (ANI): England and Liverpool soccer star Steven Gerrard has reportedly received texts of support from top players, including David Beckham, Wayne Rooney, John Terry and Rio Ferdinand, days after being charged with assault and affray. The Sun reports that the four players, all senior figures in the England team, told Gerrard to "keep your chin up" after hearing he must appear before a magistrate's court next month in connection with a bar brawl. An England source said: "They wanted to tell Stevie they're behind him. They know what it's like to be under the spotlight. You stick by your mates - especially in times of trouble - and footballers are no different."

Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez has also been in touch with Gerrard.

Gerrard, 28, was charged yesterday with assault causing actual bodily harm (ABH) and affray. He faces up to five years in jail if guilty. His charges relate to a brawl at the Lounge Inn in Southport, Merseyside, in the early hours of Monday. Part-time disc jockey Marcus McGee, 34, lost a tooth and needed stitches.

Gerrard was celebrating Liverpool's 5-1 win at Newcastle on Sunday by having drinks at the Lounge Inn with Anfield legend Kenny Dalglish.

Yesterday Dalglish, 57, said the case would not distract Gerrard on the pitch.

He said: "He's a strong character and I'm sure it won't affect his performance. The Liverpool fans will support him."

Dad-of-two Gerrard was released from custody in the early hours yesterday - almost 24 hours after his arrest. He joined his wife Alex Curran, 26, at their mansion in nearby Formby. (ANI)

Lahore, Dec.30 (ANI): The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) inorder to fix its precarious financial position is likely to replace the central contracts retainer structure for domestic regional teams.

In a recent meeting of the PCB's governing body a proposal was put forward to scrap the system and instead increase the match fees of players.

"Proposals were put forward at the governing board meeting but they require approval. There is no doubt there is a need to cut our costs to make up for the year we have had," The Daily Times quoted a PCB official as saying. The PCB pays for travel, accommodation, expenses and the salaries for up to 25 players in every region, in addition to the annual grants for regional and district associations. The expenditure is pinching PCB as the budget of the board has been hit hard by a series of tour cancellations.

Teams like India and Australia have refused to tour the country citing security reasons forcing the PCB to look for other options to dig it out from the financial crunch. (ANI)

London, Dec.30 (ANI): Ivory Coast and Chelsea football star Didier Drogba is finding it increasingly difficult to score goals for his club after experiencing resounding success in 2006 (27 goals in 47 matches) and 2007 (22 goals in 44 matches).

Drogba, the Premier League Golden Boot winner in the 2006-07 season, has also scored 30 goals in 42 Ivory Coast internationals.

According to The Sun, Drogba this year he has managed to net just nine times in 31 games at an average of 0.29.

The Ivory Coast hit-man, however, is not sorry to see the back of 2008 and predicts "beautiful things will happen" for him in 2009. It is clear that the former Marseille forward, who was roped in for 24 million dollars, has received little support from Chelsea after the death of his grandmother in June. He has felt that the club has no confidence in him as he battled back from a series of injuries.

The 90,000-pound-a- week striker said: "The hardest thing I had to endure this year wasn't football related. The death of my grandmother completely struck me down, more than anything else. I was very, very close to her and it really made me suffer. I had the feeling that all my childhood memories were going with her. I became old suddenly.

"This made me ask a few questions to myself. I wondered what I was running after. I said to myself that it was pretty useless to run after results, stats or rewards. It's true that I didn't feel a great support. But that didn't worry me really. For a few weeks I didn't have my head tuned into football at all. I didn't want to hear about targets or ambition. I felt totally switched off," he added. "For the first time, I had lost my passion for football. I was ordinary. I didn't want to fight. All summer, I felt bad. I am not looking for excuses. I just admit that, for a while, I put football on the back-burner," Drogba said.

"What opened my eyes was the way some people at the club looked at me. I really felt confidence wasn't the same. It wasn't great to feel and I remarked that some of them didn't really believe in my capacity to come back to the highest level," he said. "I fear I am only being considered as a strong centre-forward able of playing alone up front with fast players on the wings. But I can also adapt. Am I at the right place for 2009? Only time will tell. If we win the Champions League in May, the answer will be obvious," he concluded. (ANI)