Tattoos ... Mitchell Johnson. Credit:Wolter Peeters We exported our expertise For close to 20 years, Australia has been nurturing world cricket. But we could have set ourselves up better for the future. Since the late 1990s, a stream of our top coaches has flowed into international teams, taking with them knowledge acquired in Australian dressing rooms, academies, through access to enviable infrastructure and, perhaps most crucially, exposure to a professional and aggressive winning culture. Trevor Bayliss, Dav Whatmore, John Dyson, Bennett King, Tom Moody, Troy Cooley, Greg Chappell, Steve Rixon, Rod Marsh, Dennis Lillee, Jamie Siddons . . . This long list is matched by a similar number of fitness trainers and other staff. The batting coach who guided Michael Clarke and Phillip Hughes to Test level, Neil D'Costa, couldn't get a job in Australia, and now coaches talented youngsters in India. In 2008, Tim Nielsen said: "It would be great if we could hold on to a few more of these guys. Many of them have plenty to contribute, and you'd like to think that we could tap those resources a bit more." The mind-games factor

Exhibits A and B ... Phillip Hughes and Neil D’Costa in 2007.: Credit:Simon Alekna The effort to cause mental disintegration in opponents was a long-held policy of the Australian team when they had the personnel to make it happen. But the loss of several great players required different tactics, which were not forthcoming. Under threat of losing the aura of unrelenting confidence, the team tried to maintain the mental edge as the new era dawned but came under fire after the infamous 2008 Sydney Test against India, when tensions boiled over. Facing a public backlash and a warning from Cricket Australia, the team has since seemed confused about how to use mind games. From arrogant confidence to humble assuredness can be a turbulent journey. Drafted in, spat out ... Nathan Hauritz. Credit:Getty Images Spinning confusion

During Shane Warne's reign, we were led to believe that in backyards across the land kids were bowling "leggies". Clearly, that wasn't the case. They weren't in official spin schools either, as there weren't any. The only accurate forecast of the time was that Warne was a once-in-a-generation bowler, and his replacement should not be expected to emulate his skills. It is remarkable that Australia's selectors have found it beyond them to usher in a couple of stable options, develop and rotate them, let them gain confidence, and build a future for Australian spin bowling. Unproved ... Michael Beer trains at the WACA Ground. Credit:Getty Images Instead, a procession of slow bowlers – many with Test potential, such as Jason Krejza, Beau Casson or Nathan Hauritz – have been inexplicably drafted in and spat out. The culmination of this ineptitude was the selection of Michael Beer, who has proved much less deserving of being called up than others who have been discarded. Bizarre selection policy The spin spot is a beacon of the selectors' failings. But the public's frustration with their lack of direction stretches further.

It has been impossible to know if the selectors are aiming to build a team to beat the world in five years or just trying to win the next match. Either is fine. But the indecisive and, as Martin Crowe said, "un-Australian" selection policy we've seen since the big retirements has cost matches and careers. Crowe said the selection of Phillip Hughes at age 20 – and his triumph of scoring heavily in his first three Tests – suggested he'd be there for the long haul. He was dropped after supposedly struggling against short-pitched bowling, only to be brought back, out of form, to face some of the world's tallest opening bowlers on the world's bounciest pitch. There was talk of dropping Mike Hussey because he was too old and hadn't scored big in Tests for a while. Yet the Ashes would have been lost sooner without Hussey's contribution. And what about the bowlers? Is it horses for courses? Or are we trying to develop a good unit? Was Mitchell Johnson really "rested"? What about Brad Hodge? David Hussey? Cameron White? Clint McKay? Peter George? Callum Ferguson? Who is Michael Beer? What's going on?! Poor image Declining support for cricket can be attributed to many factors, including competition from other sports, changing demographics, ticket prices, different lifestyles and social media. Perhaps the biggest contributor is the changing image of the team and its diminishing connection to the public it represents. The Australian team was once loved and respected. More recently it was respected rather than loved. Now it is neither.

Cricket these days is a complex business. National players have to deal with agents, managers, sponsors, broadcasters and the game's administrative bodies, make public appearances, adapt to new rules, play three forms of the game, deal with internal politics. Many players also have long-suffering families. And they know they are one bad game away from it all ending. They are very well rewarded but it is quite a juggling act. At the core of it all there is an uncertainty about what direction the game and its players should take. Twenty20 has shaken the foundations and split people's expectations. The confusion filters through every step of the administration to the selectors and players, and the public can see straight through it. Too metrosexual The perception of the team being more concerned with hairstyles than forward defensives seems inescapable. And it's a perception that contravenes the tradition upon which Australian cricket folklore was built. Loading

Supporters can mostly accept that cricketers today earn a lot of money, fly business class, stay in expensive hotels and have all sorts of staff tending to their needs. But fewer deal well with national cricketers being involved in fashion shoots in gossip magazines, being bachelors of the year, having celebrity relationships or being covered in tattoos. It wasn't long ago that the team was filled with hard-heads such as Hayden, Waugh, McGrath, Langer, Taylor and others. The legend was built on such characters and those before them. Many people yearn for that to continue.