Ricky ponding
Ricky Thomas Ponting, AO (born 19 December 1974), nicknamed Punter, is a former Australian cricketer, and two World Cup winning captain in 2003 and 2007. Widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen and captains in the history of cricket, Ponting was captain of the Australia national cricket teamduring its 'golden era'; between 2004 and 2011 in Test cricket and 2002 and 2011 inOne Day International cricket. He is a specialist right-handed batsman, slips and close catching fielder, as well as a very occasional bowler. Ponting holds the record of being the only cricketer in the history ofTest cricket to be a part of 100 Test match wins. He was named "Cricketer of the decade 2000". He led Australia to victory at the 2003 and 2007 Cricket World Cups and was also a member of the 1999 World Cup winning team under Steve Waugh.
He represented the Tasmanian Tigers inAustralian domestic cricket, the Hobart Hurricanes in Australia's domestic T20competition the Big Bash League, and played in the Indian Premier League with the Kolkata Knight Riders in 2008. He is widely considered by many to be one of the best batsmen of the modern era, alongside Sachin Tendulkar of India and Brian Lara of the West Indies. On 1 December 2006, he reached the highest rating achieved by a Test batsman in the last 50 years.
Ponting made his first-class debut for Tasmania in November 1992, when just 17 years and 337 days old, becoming the youngest Tasmanian to play in a Sheffield Shield match. However, he had to wait until 1995 before making his One Day International(ODI) debut, during a quadrangular tournament in New Zealand in a match against South Africa. His Test debut followed shortly after, when selected for the first Test of the 1995 home series against Sri Lanka in Perth, in which he scored 96. He lost his place in the national team several times in the period before early-1999, due to lack of form and discipline, before becoming One Day International captain in early-2002 and Test captain in early 2004.
After being involved in over 160 Tests and 370 ODIs, Ponting is Australia's leading run-scorer in Test and ODI cricket. He is one of only four players (along with Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Jacques Kallis) in history to have scored 13,000 Test runs. Statistically, he is one of the most successful captains of all time, with 48 victories in 77 Tests between 2004 and 31 December 2010. As a player, Ponting is the only cricketer in history to be involved in 100 Test victories.[2][3][4][5] Ponting also holds the record to have been involved in the most ODI victories as a player, with 262 wins.[6]
On 29 November 2012 Ponting announced his retirement from Test cricket, the day before he would play in the Perth Test against South Africa. This was his 168th and last Test appearance,[7] equalling the Australian record held by Steve Waugh.[8][9] Ponting retired on 3 December 2012 with a Test batting average of 51.85.[10] He continued to play cricket around the world. In February 2013 it was announced that he would be captaining the Mumbai Indians team in the Indian Premier League.[11]and in March 2013 he was announced as the first international franchise player for theCaribbean Premier League.[12] Later that month it was revealed by Ponting that this would be his last season playing cricket, as at the end of the competition he would be retiring from all forms of the game.[13]
Ricky Thomas Ponting - a specialist right hander from Tasmania - is the highest run getter for Australia in both Tests and ODIs and is also their most successful captain. Ricky, who made his debut in 1995, took over as the Australian ODI captain in 2002 and has been a part of three successful World Cup campaigns which also included a 34 match winning streak - a record that very few people can match.
More popularly known among his teammates as Punter, his uncompromising and arrogant behavior has often drawn a lot of criticism in an otherwise glittering International career of more than 15 years. He stands third in the list of century makers in Tests - behind Tendulkar and Kallis - and is only behind Sachin Tendulkar when it comes to ODI tons.
A predominantly front-foot player, Ponting is known for his exquisite cover drives but has often fallen prey for the delivery that moves away from the bat. Nevertheless, he has all the shots in the book and undoubtedly is an ideal role model for any youngster of the present generation. Ponting also became the first ever player to score twin centuries in his 100th Test when he destroyed the South African attack with fantastic knocks of 149 and 104 not out. He was also named the Man of the Match and he ended up being the Man of the Series as well. In 2008, Ponting became the third Australian to reach 10000 Test runs.
However, in spite of making into the record books on numerous occasions, the three Ashes defeats and the fact that he hasn't won a single Test on Indian soil as a captain indicates the two most prominent black spots in his reign. For a batsman who averages above 40 in any other Test playing nation, his average of 26 on Indian soil sounds baffling. Ponting and controversies often came in one single package, but he was strong enough to let his performances overshadow his shortcomings in the field of discipline.
After an unsuccessful World Cup campaign in 2011, Ponting quit both the ODI and Test captaincy, but still continues to be the nucleus of the Australian line up. Experts said Ponting 'lacks imagination' as a captain but most of the cricketers who played under him had a positive thing or two to say on this legend.
Ponting had a great home series against India in 2011-12 which included a double ton at Adelaide. He ended the series with 544 runs - his 3rd best series aggregate ever. He also became the first player to be involved in 100 test wins when Australia won at Galle - it was a staggering achievement for a man who prides himself on donning the Baggy Green.
A continuous run of failures against South Africa in the home series in 2012 forced him to call it a day. The Perth Test was his final game in International cricket. Ponting by the sheer weight of runs and numbers behind him can safely be classified as one of the greatest batsmen ever to have played the game.
After his retirement, Ponting continued to play the IPL and represented the Mumbai Indians in a few games while also playing for the Hobart Hurricanes back home in the Big Bash League. Ponting, much like any other former players, became a commentator and voiced his opinions for Australian broadcasters Channel 9 and Ten Sport.
Soon after his retirement, he came out with his autobiography titled ‘At the Close of Play’ and like almost all autobiographies, created a storm in the media with some of the allegations and statements. He was very critical of Duncan Fletcher’s tactic of using substitutes to give his strike bowlers a comfort break during the historic Ashes of 2005. He also shed light on the ‘Monkeygate’ scandal that rocked the cricketing world and claimed how some of the Indian officials used their high-handedness to threaten Cricket Australia with financial repercussions by pulling out of the tour. He stated how disappointed he was with his own board for failing to stand by their players in the time of this racial controversy. His revelations of Andrew Symonds coming to play an International game nursing a hangover and the attitude of Michael Clarke, made it one of the sporting bestsellers of the year.
In 2014, he was appointed one of the many mentors in the star-studded Mumbai Indians franchise. In 2015 however, he took over from John Wright to become their head coach. Despite losing five out of their first six games, he backed the youngsters to come good and his strategy bore fruit as Mumbai went on to lift the coveted IPL trophy for the second time.
More popularly known among his teammates as Punter, his uncompromising and arrogant behavior has often drawn a lot of criticism in an otherwise glittering International career of more than 15 years. He stands third in the list of century makers in Tests - behind Tendulkar and Kallis - and is only behind Sachin Tendulkar when it comes to ODI tons.
A predominantly front-foot player, Ponting is known for his exquisite cover drives but has often fallen prey for the delivery that moves away from the bat. Nevertheless, he has all the shots in the book and undoubtedly is an ideal role model for any youngster of the present generation. Ponting also became the first ever player to score twin centuries in his 100th Test when he destroyed the South African attack with fantastic knocks of 149 and 104 not out. He was also named the Man of the Match and he ended up being the Man of the Series as well. In 2008, Ponting became the third Australian to reach 10000 Test runs.
However, in spite of making into the record books on numerous occasions, the three Ashes defeats and the fact that he hasn't won a single Test on Indian soil as a captain indicates the two most prominent black spots in his reign. For a batsman who averages above 40 in any other Test playing nation, his average of 26 on Indian soil sounds baffling. Ponting and controversies often came in one single package, but he was strong enough to let his performances overshadow his shortcomings in the field of discipline.
After an unsuccessful World Cup campaign in 2011, Ponting quit both the ODI and Test captaincy, but still continues to be the nucleus of the Australian line up. Experts said Ponting 'lacks imagination' as a captain but most of the cricketers who played under him had a positive thing or two to say on this legend.
Ponting had a great home series against India in 2011-12 which included a double ton at Adelaide. He ended the series with 544 runs - his 3rd best series aggregate ever. He also became the first player to be involved in 100 test wins when Australia won at Galle - it was a staggering achievement for a man who prides himself on donning the Baggy Green.
A continuous run of failures against South Africa in the home series in 2012 forced him to call it a day. The Perth Test was his final game in International cricket. Ponting by the sheer weight of runs and numbers behind him can safely be classified as one of the greatest batsmen ever to have played the game.
After his retirement, Ponting continued to play the IPL and represented the Mumbai Indians in a few games while also playing for the Hobart Hurricanes back home in the Big Bash League. Ponting, much like any other former players, became a commentator and voiced his opinions for Australian broadcasters Channel 9 and Ten Sport.
Soon after his retirement, he came out with his autobiography titled ‘At the Close of Play’ and like almost all autobiographies, created a storm in the media with some of the allegations and statements. He was very critical of Duncan Fletcher’s tactic of using substitutes to give his strike bowlers a comfort break during the historic Ashes of 2005. He also shed light on the ‘Monkeygate’ scandal that rocked the cricketing world and claimed how some of the Indian officials used their high-handedness to threaten Cricket Australia with financial repercussions by pulling out of the tour. He stated how disappointed he was with his own board for failing to stand by their players in the time of this racial controversy. His revelations of Andrew Symonds coming to play an International game nursing a hangover and the attitude of Michael Clarke, made it one of the sporting bestsellers of the year.
In 2014, he was appointed one of the many mentors in the star-studded Mumbai Indians franchise. In 2015 however, he took over from John Wright to become their head coach. Despite losing five out of their first six games, he backed the youngsters to come good and his strategy bore fruit as Mumbai went on to lift the coveted IPL trophy for the second time.
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