JUSTIN LANGER has called on the next Ricky Ponting to stand up and reveal himself, and welcomed the end of a selection culture he said had rewarded mediocrity.
While Ponting's one-day demise has put everyone on notice of selector John Inverarity's perform-or-perish platform, Langer said it should also serve as a wake-up call to batsmen on the fringe of the Test and one-day teams.
Among the reasons the selectors wanted Ponting to continue as a Test player was the dearth of quality young batsmen making runs in the Sheffield Shield.
As Australia's batting coach, Langer not only works as a hands-on assistant to Mickey Arthur on tour but keeps tabs on batting performances in domestic cricket.
''The thing about Ricky Ponting being dropped this week, if there is a positive to it, it's that the selectors are saying performance is everything,'' Langer said ''Over the last couple of years, whether it's in Shield cricket or Test cricket, the competition hasn't been that strong and they have been rewarded for mediocre performances.
''The selectors have shown their hand; it doesn't matter if you're Ricky Ponting or a 21-year-old, you've got to perform. That's the system we want to get, a real cutthroat, tough system through Australian cricket. The next guys have to be smashing the door down, not just knocking on the door because they've got some talent and a fancy haircut and an earring, they've got to be knocking it down.''
Ponting's succession of low scores in the one-day series made him vulnerable when captain Michael Clarke and his deputy Shane Watson returned from injury. While former teammate Langer believes the veteran of 375 one-day internationals falls into the ''irreplaceable'' category, he said it was up to younger batsmen in domestic cricket to step up.
Two batsmen with Test experience, Usman Khawaja and Phillip Hughes, have stalled this season, and the Shield runs table is topped by 27-year-old Liam Davis - the small, tough WA batsman - after a triple century against NSW this week. Peter Forrest and George Bailey are pushing for inclusion in the party for the forthcoming tour of the West Indies.
''It might give younger players an opportunity,'' Langer said. ''There will be increased pressure because the expectation of being a No.3 batsman in Australia is huge. I'm looking forward to seeing who has got the steel and the resolve and the technique and the desire to become our next high-performance player.''
Life without Ponting, a dual World Cup-winning captain, begins against Sri Lanka in Hobart tomorrow. The 37-year-old will represent Tasmania in the Ryobi Cup final at Adelaide Oval on Saturday.
Not everyone lauded his decision to press on as a Test batsman. Former fast bowler Geoff Lawson said Ponting was guilty of self-indulgence, and that the selectors should look to the future.
''I thought the press conference was one of the most self-indulgent little pieces of self-interest I've seen for a long time,'' Lawson told Sydney's Sky Sports Radio yesterday. ''Maybe Ricky needed it but I don't think the team needed it. He said he wanted to go out on top. Well, he just made a double hundred in the Test match [in Adelaide last month]. The only way he can go now is down. To retire after Adelaide would have been absolutely perfect.
''If he doesn't make runs in the three Shield games, I'm not sure why he should be going to the West Indies … Let's move on and get a young player.''
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