Ricky Ponting

Ricky Thomas Ponting (born December 19, 1974, in Launceston, Tasmania) is the captain of the Australian One-Day and Test cricket teams. As of May 2006, he is the world's leading batsman in Test cricket according to the ICC rankings, and second in the rankings for One-day Internationals. He has made over 8,500 Test runs in 103 Tests at an average of over 58 with 31 centuries. In one-day international matches, Ponting has made over 9,000 runs in 250 matches at an average of 42 with a strike rate of 79.

Unlike many Australian cricketers, Ponting's talents were quickly rewarded with selection, playing for Tasmania at age 17, with his Test debut coming against Sri Lanka in the 1995/96 season at age 20 at Perth where he was out for a dubious lbw decision for 96 in his first Test innings. After appearing in six Test matches Ponting then lost his place for a time before returning triumphantly to the team against England at Leeds in July 1997 when he scored his first Test century.

Early off-field difficulties, involving him on two occasions getting excessively drunk while on tour, and once becoming involved in a bar fight saw him temporarily dropped from the team in 1999, but aside from an ankle injury in 2000 he has been a permanent fixture in the team, mostly batting in the number 3 position where the best batsman in the team is often played.

With the dropping of Waugh from the one-day team in 2002, Ponting was elevated to the captaincy, ahead of then vice-captain Adam Gilchrist. At the time, this was considered rather surprising by many commentators. He led his team to a dominant performance in the 2003 cricket World Cup which was highlighted by the complete demolition of the undisputed second-best team in the tournament, India, in the final with a brilliant, coruscating 140-run innings. With Waugh's retirement, he assumed the Test captaincy and continued Australia's success in that form of the game, notably whitewashing Sri Lanka 3-0 in Sri Lanka, a rare achievement on the subcontinent.

In the 2005–06 season, he scored a century in both innings of a Test match three times, including becoming the first man to score a century in each innings of his 100th Test match. He is the only the second man (after Sunil Gavaskar) to score centuries in both innings of a Test match 3 times, and the first to do it in a single season.

On 12 March 2006, he scored 164 in only 105 balls in a one-day international against South Africa in Johannesburg as Australia made a record total of 4 for 434, only to be beaten by South Africa's 9 for 438. At the end of the match Ponting was jointly awarded Man of the Match with Herschelle Gibbs. Ponting declined the award saying that Gibbs deserved the award more than he did.

He is also the only cricketer to have won the Allan Border Medal twice, and the only cricketer to score over 1500 Test match runs in a calendar year twice.^{^*}

First Ashes tour as Captain

In 2005 Ponting got his first major challenge as captain, when the Australian team toured England. After a comprehensive win at Lord's in the first Test, England fought back to win at Edgbaston and Australia were in danger of going 2-1 down at the next Test at Old Trafford. With “Australia needing to survive a whole day to achieve a draw, Ponting made a stylish and chanceless 156 - before being out just four overs before the end, but Australia still just held on. Ponting's 156 was the Australians' first Test century of the series, and a welcome return to form for Ponting, who had been dismissed in single figures three times in the series before this innings. At the next (Fourth) Test match at Trent Bridge Ponting was again dismissed for single figures in his first innings and Australia were forced to follow-on. In his second innings Ponting had scored 48 runs off 89 balls in two hours at the crease, but he was then run out by a brilliant throw by a young English substitute fielder Gary Pratt. The 'excessive' use of substitute fielders by England in the series had angered Ponting and he saw this dismissal as the final straw. He directed a tirade of abuse at the England balcony using abusive language for which he was fined 75% of his match fee by the ICC. After England won the match to take a 2-1 lead in the series Ponting returned to the subject of substitutes in an interview with Australian radio "I think it's an absolute disgrace the spirit of the game is being treated like that. It is within the rules; it's just not within the spirit of the game" he said. The England coach Duncan Fletcher later commented on this incident "He ^* completely blew his top. I did not actually think it at the time but, looking back now, that might be the moment when it became clear that England were going to regain the Ashes"

Commentators suggested that Ponting’s anger at Trent Bridge was a sign of his frustration at his team’s inability to match the overall play of a resurgent England team. English commentators commented unfavorably on Ponting’s captaincy compared with that of Michael Vaughan and said that Ponting was clearly frustrated by the fact that he may be going to be the first Australian captain since Allan Border in 1985 to fail to defend the Ashes successfully. He also remarked that should Australia fail to retain the Ashes, he would not shoulder the blame entirely, citing the performance of his players. Many saw this as a sign of weakness, that he showed a fear of impending failure to his opponents. England proceeded to force a draw in the Fifth Test at the Oval, and regained the Ashes 2-1.

Despite the controversy, however, one lingering conclusion remains: though failing to secure the Ashes for Australia, Ponting nevertheless captained an unsettled side through the most closely contested and engaging Ashes series in living memory.

Ponting's cricketing strengths

Like many Australian batsmen, Ricky Ponting is particularly strong against pace bowling, with the full array of back foot shots, including the pull, hook, and square cut. Early on, he was regarded as a near-compulsive hooker and vulnerable to being caught at fine leg; he has latterly moderated this tendency. He is less effective against spin bowling on flat pitches. In eight Test matches against India in India, Ponting's batting average is 12.28; considerably lower than his career average.

His batting average has steadily improved over time. Up until the end of 2001, he averaged 44.19 in 52 matches; in the 50 matches from then until March 2006, he averaged 71.53.

Another habit that Ponting has abandoned in recent years is his seeming distaste for helmets. From his debut until merely a few years ago, Ponting was rarely seen with any headgear on other than his Baggy green. Whether this was due to a genuine dislike for helmets or simply bravado is uncertain - in his early days he was no.3 to the erratic opening partnerships of Slater/Taylor and Waugh/Taylor, meaning he was frequently facing fired-up pacemen when he arrived at the crease. But that never seemed to daunt him, at least not so much that he felt the need to wear more protective headgear. His decision to start wearing protective helmets again perhaps saved his career when in the first Ashes Test of 2005 series at Lord's he received a vicious bouncer from Steve Harmison directed at his head that hit him on the side of his helmet. (Nonetheless the bouncer hit with enough force to disorientate Ponting and to knock the face-guard back far enough that a bar impacted directly into his face leaving him with a scar on his left cheek that as of Dec 2005 is still clearly visible.) However, he does still occasionally abandon his helmet when facing medium pace or slow bowling.

Ponting occasionally bowls medium pace, and took the prized wicket of England Captain Michael Vaughan in the fourth Ashes Test at Trent Bridge in 2005. He is an outstanding fielder at slip or in the covers, with brilliant reactions and hand/eye coordination. He also has an ability to hit the stumps frequently.

In 2004, Ponting was named Leading Cricketer in the World by the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack. However, he had to wait until 2006 before he was named Wisden Cricketer of the Year.

Following the Ashes defeat of 2005, Ponting began a run of form rarely seen in the history of the game. Between October 2005 and April 2006, he played 12 Tests against the ICC World XI, the West Indies, South Africa (all at home) and South Africa again (away). He scored 1483 runs with eight centuries at an average of 78.05 during this time. His batting performance was the most important reason his Australian side won 11 of those 12 Tests, with the 1st Test in Perth against the South Africans the only draw. This exceptional form streak resulted in his being ranked the number one batsmen in the LG ICC cricket ratings and obtaining a rating of 937 points, the sixth best such rating of all-time.

Graphite bat controversy

Ponting is one of the batsmen supplied with bats by the Australian company Kookaburra Sport. In 2006, the graphite-covered bat he was using was declared by the MCC to have contravened Law 6.1., which states that bats have to be made of wood, although they may be "covered with material for protection, strengthening or repair not likely to cause unacceptable damage to the ball". Kookaburra maintained that the carbon fibre covering on the back of the bat is sufficiently thin to be permissable under the law, but agreed to co-operate and supply Ponting and others with compliant bats. ^*

Endorsements

He is seen in a television advertisement for a deodorant and anti-perspirant product (Unilever's Rexona) where he is shown supposedly batting against an overwhelming number of bowlers, and subsequently shows no marks or body odour.

Personal life

With the now-large financial rewards of international cricket, Ponting is a full-time professional cricketer. His one well-known off-field interest is betting on horse and greyhound races, as indicated by his nickname, "Punter".

Ricky married his long-time girlfriend, law student Rianna Cantor, in June 2002. He has himself credited her as a reason for the maturity evident in his game in recent years.

Ponting is a keen supporter of the North Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League ^*.

External links

Ricky Ponting | रिकी पोंटिंग