Ricky Ponting steps down as Captain (Updated)

[Spark]

Not least because I think it could extend his career by a few more years and for purely selfish reasons I'm extremely loath to see him go - permanently.

 

[pup11]

The captaincy has something to do with it when he is so manifestly not enjoying it. It's a shame to see so great a player not seeming to enjoy his cricket.

Maybe if he ditches the captaincy he can just bat and enjoy himself again. Then again, maybe not.

But I'd like to find out.

Even if he gives up captaincy then who takes over from him..? Surely not Clarke because serious question marks are hanging over his place in the team as well.

That's one of the main reasons that he is not quitting captaincy imo, also for me the respect that his peers have for their leader plays a vital part in a captain being successful or not, Ponting still has that respect but I can't say the same about anyone else in the present team.

 

[Spark]

How on earth can you possibly make a judgement on whether players have their peers respect from here?

 

[hang on]

very good innings by ponting. but still time to shuffle off into the gloaming as far as odis are concerned. and he should play on under clarke in the test team, assuming he is willing to do so.

 

[Ausage]

It's a bit catch 22 with prospective captains and not being seen as captaincy material too. It's hard for us as fans on the outside to think about what this team would look like without Ponting leading, and it would infinitely harder for the team itself to imagine. But how is someone like Clarke supposed to embed the idea of him leading the team amongst his peers if he never gets more than a cameo? It's like the old unwinnable political argument incumbent governments use about an oppositions lack of experience. Of course they havent got any experience running the country, they're the opposition.

Directly after a WC and 2 years before an Ashes campaign seems about as good a time as any to start blooding a new leader.

 

[flibbertyjibber]

It will be fascinating to see what happens should Ponting retire/get the push from ODI's. Will it undermine him as a test player etc....

Whatever happens Khawaja should be inserted at 3 in the test side and if Ponting is regarded as still good enough to play by the selectors he should be moved down to 5 or 6.

Been a great player, certainly up at the same level as Lara and Tendulkar as the best bats of the last 20 years or so and it would be great to see him have a runladen last hurrah for us all to remember.

 

[marc71178]

That's one of the main reasons that he is not quitting captaincy imo,

Personally I'd say the main reason he's not giving up the captaincy is because he knows that history suggests that if he gives it up, he's not being selected again.

 

[pup11]

Personally I'd say the main reason he's not giving up the captaincy is because he knows that history suggests that if he gives it up, he's not being selected again.

Haha... If Mike Hussey and Marcus North can play so many matches without scoring nothing, then one would have thought that Ponting has done enough in his career to retire on his own terms.

 

[Spark]

You never know with this lot of selectors.

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http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/03/25/3174155.htm?site=sport&section=all

 

[pup11]

How on earth can you possibly make a judgement on whether players have their peers respect from here?

Respect has to be earned by playing hard and showing determination, last night Ponting was toiling hard at one end for his team and Clarke who is suppossed to be the man to take over from him came in scratched around for a bit and then just threw his wicket away playing one of the most ridiculous shots he has ever played in his career.

I think those are the moments when you can either lose or earn respect from your peers and fans alike.

If you might ask what difference this whole respect thing makes then the simple answer to this is that, as long as you aren't inspirational and worthy enough to lead your side you are never gonna be able to get the best out of your team.

Before the start of the tournament Ponting openly came out and asked Haddin to contribute more with the bat and the results are for all to see and that's the sort of thing a good leader brings to the table.

 

[pup11]

You never know with this lot of selectors.

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ABC Sport - Ponting overburdened, Buchanan says

Don't know the point of that article tbh, all Buck is saying there is how hard Ricky has had it in the last 2-3 years and he is obviously pointing out that Punter has been let down by Hilditch and Nielsen and therefore he has had to bear the burden of their jobs as well.

 

[Nate]

Watson for number 3 in all forms of the game, for mine.

It's catching on! <3

 

[Furball]

Watson for number 3 in all forms of the game, for mine.

Why in ODIs?

 

[Redbacks]

The sad thing about it is no Australian batsmen has been either consistent or dominant enough to make Ponting's life a little easier, its worth noticing that Ponting's form has nosedived alarmingly only since the retirements of likes of Hayden, Gilchrist, Langer and start of Hussey's inconsistent form, which is a clear indication that extra pressure has been weighing him down and the injuries and his age have only added to his problems.

We also lost two of our greatest ever bowlers meaning the team performance was bound to drop away regardless of how the batting went. This then leads to even greater pressure on our batting lineup and the captaincy.

 

[vcs]

Sambit Bal on Ricky Ponting: A hero even in defeat | Opinion | Cricinfo Magazine | ESPN Cricinfo

WAFG.

 

[honestbharani]

Do all the people who are blasting Ponting realise that the guy has been playing on with numerous injuries for the last 2-3 years and that is something that has obviously hampered his batting ability.

To say Ponting is the reason behind all batting collapses and everything that's gone wrong with Australia team is absolutely ridiculous, he during his peak has won Australia games on his own and now its time for others to stand up and share the load.

Clarke or Watson who are younger players at the peak of their batting prowess have had their moments but they have hardly done enough to lead the batting side of things.

Someone like SRT in recent times has gone into a different league in terms of run-scoring but one of the main reason for that is that his batting workload is very well shared in his team these days, whereas in contrast even at the age of 36 Ponting is still expected to score bulk of the runs for Australia.

So did Lara though... And I didn't see these lines being trotted out to his defence by many... You gotta take the good with the bad. He had awesome support when he was at his peak and like some of those things in life, he got the best support when he was at his best and the worst support when he is at his worst.. C'est la vie, I suppose.

 

[howardj]

It will be fascinating to see what happens should Ponting retire/get the push from ODI's. Will it undermine him as a test player etc....

Whatever happens Khawaja should be inserted at 3 in the test side and if Ponting is regarded as still good enough to play by the selectors he should be moved down to 5 or 6.

Been a great player, certainly up at the same level as Lara and Tendulkar as the best bats of the last 20 years or so and it would be great to see him have a runladen last hurrah for us all to remember.

Agree that if he plays on in Tests, he should move down to #5 or #6.

Disagree however that Usman should bat at #3.

Agree with my good friends Nnanden and Top Cat - Watson for #3 in all forms.

In fact, the only role for I have for Ponting in Australian cricket is #5 or #6 without the captaincy and no ODIs (need his batting for the heavy duty Test tours of SL, SA and then against India).

 

[pup11]

So did Lara though... And I didn't see these lines being trotted out to his defence by many... You gotta take the good with the bad. He had awesome support when he was at his peak and like some of those things in life, he got the best support when he was at his best and the worst support when he is at his worst.. C'est la vie, I suppose.

Where did I say it wasn't the same for Lara, infact Lara is a good example of how things gets easier when you have other people supporting your around the batting line-up.

If you recall Lara during his peak he really didn't score as many runs as you would expect of him, yet during the last few years of his career his form and consistentcy improved and that was largely because likes of Gayle, Sarwan, Chanders all were scoring runs around him whereas in the past he was pretty much on his own.

 

[Burgey]

Reports here today Ponting has been given until Wednesday to "consider his position" with regards the captaincy.

 

[Jono]

Why isn't Ponting seeing the writing on the wall? I think its obvious CA want him gone as captain. I'm truly shocked that he's defying it all. Unless he actually wants to be sacked rather than quit as he believes he'll have the public sentiment on his side?