Australian cricket is in a pickle. Fingers have been pointed at a wide range of suspects - management, selectors, coach, captain and senior players - and all of them are partly to blame, writes Peter Roebuck in the Sydney Morning Herald.

The board must take responsibility for complacent appointments made and uninspired decisions taken over the past 18 months. In success mistakes can be buried, but once things start to go wrong they stand out like a night fire. Errors can become entrenched, eating into the culture.

Consider the decisions taken on the coaching side. Although the team has been struggling, another two years have been added to Tim Nielsen's contract. Nielsen is a fine fellow but unproven at this level ...

Nor did it seem sensible to ask Greg Chappell to lead the high performance centre in Brisbane. Chappell has a sharp cricket brain, an abiding interest in the game and a way with youth, but he remains unproven as a constant coach.