Wednesday, February 27, 2002 First things first: Australia made the wrong decision in sacking Steve Waugh from the one-day captaincy. This was a decision based on just one tournament - and only the first half of the tournament at that. The selectors should have made it clear to Waugh that they expected a better performance, and given him one more chance in South Africa. There is no questioning Waugh's experience and that experience would - and could still - be invaluable in the World Cup.

He deserved better, but the Australians have shown once again that individuals do not matter - it is the success of the team that counts. In my view, one bad series does not mean you should be dumped. We will see how Australia cope without him in the one-day series against South Africa, and the final judgment will have to be reserved until the World Cup. It is not a route that I would have gone down.

That aside, the virtues of the Australian way have been clearly demonstrated by their comprehensive thrashing of South Africa in the first Test at Johannesburg. Success can breed complacency, but there was no sign of complacency in Australia's performance. No-one took their foot off the pedal, and the whole side was focused. The threat hanging over them was clear: you are all vulnerable, and no performance means no selection. It is a great way of making sure your players are on top of their game.

This ruthless policy relies on two things. First, there has to be consistency. The same rules must apply across the board, and there is no scope for favouritism or cliques. Most other countries keep some players in or drop them without much rationale. You might not like the way Australia do it, but they are consistently ruthless.

This consistency impacts on performance. Players in the team have to perform - there are no free rides. Those outside know that if they are on top form they have a chance of getting a first-team place if anyone above them slips up. It is a straightforward deal. For example, Michael Slater lost form in England and Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer have made sure that there is no immediate chance of him getting his place back. Few other teams could afford the luxury of leaving out a player of Slater's ability. There is healthy competition for almost every place in Australia's line-up.

Even so, I think the margin of victory flattered Australia. Yes, South Africa's performance in recent years has earned them second place in the ICC Test table, but the side that played the first Test was an inexperienced one. You cannot rely on a few players to carry you in Test cricket, especially against the best team in the world. One or two players can swing a one-day game, but you need a strong performance from nearly all the team if you are to succeed in Tests.

This South African XI was not the second-best team in the world. Shaun Pollock's return will make a big difference, but I still worry that they have too many inexperienced Test players to challenge Australia. It can only get better for Steve Waugh.

Javed Miandad, Pakistan's most prolific batsman and later their coach, was talking to Kamran Abbasi. His column appears every Wednesday.

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