SYDNEY, Sept 13: Test cricket’s most successful captain Steve Waugh on Tuesday cautioned selectors against rushing into making impulsive changes to the Australian team following their Ashes series defeat to England.

Waugh, 40, said some of his former team-mates were reaching the crossroads of their cricket careers and some changes were likely in the next couple of years but he urged for clear heads to prevail at the selection table.

“They’ll have a couple of players in mind which they will bring in the side over the next couple of years,” Waugh told Channel Nine.

Waugh, who won 41 of his 57 Tests as Australian captain from 1999 to 2004 before Ricky Ponting took over as skipper, said his successor’s field settings were conservative during the Ashes campaign.

But he said this was because of the danger of conceding too many boundaries on the English grounds.

“The ropes were brought in quite a bit, the fields are smaller now. They are much quicker, the outfields,” said Waugh, who finished second only to compatriot Allan Border as the highest run-getter in Tests with 10,927 runs in 168 Tests.

“It wasn’t Australia’s normal aggressive fields. They are playing a little differently these days.

“It worked very well in India. That’s not to say it’s the wrong way. I think England just outplayed Australia. It’s been a fantastic series, good for cricket.”

Meanwhile, a major shake-up of Australian cricket is expected, Australian media said.

“The selectors must decide quickly whether the winds of change will blow through the side for the Super Series against the rest of the World in Melbourne and Sydney next month,” The Australian’s Malcolm Conn said.

Coach John Buchanan is another whose future is on the line with his contract with Cricket Australia about to expire.

“Buchanan will be placed under pressure by Cricket Australia to change his methods in the wake of Australia’s performance if he is to be granted a new contract,” The Daily Telegraph’s Robert Craddock wrote.—AFP