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**Official** Ponting Tribute Thread

Garson007

State Vice-Captain
Honestly have no idea where this idea came from that Ponting is an 'eye' player. His technique has always been fairly water-tight.

Not to mention, being a batting coach would be about more than just technique. In terms of tactics and mental approach, Ponting's as good as it gets.
You're free to disagree. The point is that he will have to coach people less talented than himself - that generally doesn't work.
 

Teja.

Global Moderator
Fantastic batsman, One of the best ever against great bowling too 'course but would make you relentlessly pay like no-one else if you had a **** pacer in your side. At his peak, it felt like once he got to 25, 25-150 was a mere natural progression and getting him out in the middle was the exception rather than the rule. Also an amazing sight, aesthetically speaking to see him play the pull shot. Played it with the authority of someone who had a patent over it.

I remember his double in a losing cause in Adellaide 2003, the Ashes 2005 knock among many others like I saw them yesterday. I was two when his career was born and I'm turning twenty in a few months and Punter was the best batsman in the world for a considerable portion of that time - and he certainly knew he was too.

Art is long and time is fleeting. :(
 
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Johnners

Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
Have to agree on the first innings thing. Almost felt like you were punished for taking that first wicket of a series against Australia. Clapo used to have a quote from pasag in his signature about it, just pure mental strength to lead from the front like that at the beginning of a series.
Still do tbh
 

doesitmatter

U19 Cricketer
The best thing about Ponting was "down to earth" or like a "working class hero" quality about him which endeared him to the regular Aussie folks and to be a mass hero you got to have that and he had it..oh yes One of the great batsman/fielder of all time..go on Ricky follow your other hobby of being a Punter..you can start with when the Indian great will retire? ;)...
 
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GotSpin

Hall of Fame Member
Absolutely devastated tbh. Looking at Australian test team line up without Ponting on the scorecard will be hard to handle.
 
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Francis

State Vice-Captain
After Sir Donald Bradman, I think the next best Australian batsman is either Ricky Ponting of Greg Chappell. So Ponting has had quite a career.

I'll be honest when I say I'm not the biggest fan of his sportsmanship or captaincy. The Australian team of the 00s with Hayden, Langer, Ponting, Waugh, Gilchrist, etc, may be the best side there's ever been. They were a side whose greatness really goes back to Alan Border, and was continued by Taylor and Waugh.

But under Ponting they didn't seem to have the same sort of toughness. Under Ponting's captaincy Australia lost the 2005 Ashes, which was a bizarre series. England played incredibly well, but a lot of Australia's greatest ever players cracked under the pressure. It was incredible watching this team of invincibles disintegrate. Gilchrist was constantly found-out by Flintoff, Hayden was disturbed by fieldsmen places at short mid off, stopping him from being bullied. Langer was courageous, but couldn't build an innings.

Only Warne rose above the pressure. And really it was a testament to Warne's greatness that he nearly carried that side single-handedly to a draw! In fact if a few things went his way (like the 2nd Test), they could have won that series!

Ponting, to his credit, won back the Ashes in 2007 in remarkable fashion. But after the legacies of Border, Taylor, and Waugh, Ponting was the first captain to lose the Ashes twice away from home, and once at home. Furthermore, he lost to SA at home, the first Aussie captain to do so.

Not to be too harsh on Punter, but captains like Border squeezed more juice out of his side than was really there, whereas I felt Australia consistently underperformed with Punter as captain.

The 2008 series against India was, hands down, the nastiest series I've seen in sport, with Harbahjan (sp.?) accused of racism, Ponting accused of claiming catches he didn't take, India complaining of biased referees. The whole series was nasty and left a bad taste in my mouth. Both teams were a disgrace.

The ideal ending for Ponting would have been to do what he didn't do in 2005 and 2009 - win the Ashes in England. To his credit, he admitted that he couldn't sustain the necessary form to justify a place in the 2013 Ashes.

The last two years of his career weren't kind to him, and he's retiring with an average below 55, but above 50.

I associated the rise and fall of Australian cricket with Ricky Ponting more than any other player. In 2003 they demolished all at the World Cup. Ricky Ponting was the world's best player, and the heir to all the hard work laid by the former Aussie captains.

They reigned supreme and were unlike any sports team in the world. But they rose and fell under Punter's reign. I wasn't a fan of Ponting's sportsmanship, and when things didn't go well for him, he could spit he dummy. I enjoyed his behaviour against New Zealand, but that's it.

As poor as he was for most of the 2005 Ashes, he played his best innings and a tremendous captains knock in that third Test, which he saved. That was the best he ever batted.

It would be a good ending to his career if he wins this final Test and Australia reclaims the world number one ranking. In that sense things would have gone full circle. A player of his greatness, the last of the greatest Australian team, deserves to see Australia got out on top as the world's best side.
 

smash84

The Tiger King
After Sir Donald Bradman, I think the next best Australian batsman is either Ricky Ponting of Greg Chappell. So Ponting has had quite a career.

I'll be honest when I say I'm not the biggest fan of his sportsmanship or captaincy. The Australian team of the 00s with Hayden, Langer, Ponting, Waugh, Gilchrist, etc, may be the best side there's ever been. They were a side whose greatness really goes back to Alan Border, and was continued by Taylor and Waugh.

But under Ponting they didn't seem to have the same sort of toughness. Under Ponting's captaincy Australia lost the 2005 Ashes, which was a bizarre series. England played incredibly well, but a lot of Australia's greatest ever players cracked under the pressure. It was incredible watching this team of invincibles disintegrate. Gilchrist was constantly found-out by Flintoff, Hayden was disturbed by fieldsmen places at short mid off, stopping him from being bullied. Langer was courageous, but couldn't build an innings.

Only Warne rose above the pressure. And really it was a testament to Warne's greatness that he nearly carried that side single-handedly to a draw! In fact if a few things went his way (like the 2nd Test), they could have won that series!

Ponting, to his credit, won back the Ashes in 2007 in remarkable fashion. But after the legacies of Border, Taylor, and Waugh, Ponting was the first captain to lose the Ashes twice away from home, and once at home. Furthermore, he lost to SA at home, the first Aussie captain to do so.

Not to be too harsh on Punter, but captains like Border squeezed more juice out of his side than was really there, whereas I felt Australia consistently underperformed with Punter as captain.

The 2008 series against India was, hands down, the nastiest series I've seen in sport, with Harbahjan (sp.?) accused of racism, Ponting accused of claiming catches he didn't take, India complaining of biased referees. The whole series was nasty and left a bad taste in my mouth. Both teams were a disgrace.

The ideal ending for Ponting would have been to do what he didn't do in 2005 and 2009 - win the Ashes in England. To his credit, he admitted that he couldn't sustain the necessary form to justify a place in the 2013 Ashes.

The last two years of his career weren't kind to him, and he's retiring with an average below 55, but above 50.

I associated the rise and fall of Australian cricket with Ricky Ponting more than any other player. In 2003 they demolished all at the World Cup. Ricky Ponting was the world's best player, and the heir to all the hard work laid by the former Aussie captains.

They reigned supreme and were unlike any sports team in the world. But they rose and fell under Punter's reign. I wasn't a fan of Ponting's sportsmanship, and when things didn't go well for him, he could spit he dummy. I enjoyed his behaviour against New Zealand, but that's it.

As poor as he was for most of the 2005 Ashes, he played his best innings and a tremendous captains knock in that third Test, which he saved. That was the best he ever batted.

It would be a good ending to his career if he wins this final Test and Australia reclaims the world number one ranking. In that sense things would have gone full circle. A player of his greatness, the last of the greatest Australian team, deserves to see Australia got out on top as the world's best side.
absolutely awesome post.
 

Riggins

International Captain
burgey's post says everything i could want to say.

i don't think i could love a human baby more than i love ricky ponting.

now you've got nothing better to do, be my coach rick!
 

Ikki

Hall of Fame Member
TBF, I think he went too soon. His retirement is symbolic for the way he played the game: for the team. He felt guilty not contributing enough, and even though he was granted leeway he didn't take it because he could no longer look himself in the mirror and let the team down. I think it was the media and many former pros who really piled that pressure and that guilt trip on him. I think he should have played the series out, at least.

As for his career, what can you say? ATG, on par with any batsman not named Bradman. Around 07, I thought he would pull clear and show he was a step above the 2nd tier. He scored so many runs, so confidently, that you felt for the bowlers. As others have said, unless you got him early it seemed like you had to move a mountain to get him out. The only other batsman IMO who had the same effect was Lara. Actually, I'd argue Lara was even harder to get out when he hit his stride but maybe didn't make as many runs as consistently as Ponting. And his fielding...arguably the greatest ever.

I honestly would love it if he hit a ridiculous score or twin tons in the next test and rethought his decision. Too soon Ricky, will miss you too much mate!
 
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Stapel

International Regular
I've seen three innings by Ponting:

-Two at the Kensington Oval in 2008, LBW by Jerome Taylor for 18, and caught by the late Runako Morton at midwicket for 39.
-A three-ball golden duck in 2009 at The Oval, LBW by Jerome Taylor, during the world cup T20. It is a sad thing I remember Ponting mostly for surviving two wides, before going out first legal delivery!
 

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