**Official** Ponting Tribute Thread

[TNT]

Outstanding career and recognised by his peers as the most outstanding cricketer for a decade. The very best of his generation.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/india/content/player/7133.html

Ricky Ponting has been voted Player of the Decade by an overwhelming majority by a jury comprising former and current players and cricket writers.
Ponting got 60 points (a first-place vote fetched three points, a second place two, and third place one), 23 more than second-placed Jacques Kallis. Adam Gilchrist was ranked third (29 points), while positions four to seven went to Muttiah Muralitharan, Glenn McGrath, Sachin Tendulkar and Shane Warne.
Ponting scored more runs and centuries in both forms of the game than any other batsman in the decade, and he was the only one to go past the 9000-mark in both Tests and ODIs. In 107 Tests between 2000 and 2009, he scored 9458 runs at 58.38, and 32 of his 38 centuries. Ponting and Kallis, along with Mohammad Yousuf, were the only batsmen to average more than 58 in Tests in the decade.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/india/content/player/7133.html

 

[weldone]

Ah,so Ponting goes after Dravid. Kallis is the only great batsman remaining from that generation now (I consider Tendulkar from a different generation of batsmen along with Lara, Waugh etc).

I'll remember Ponting as a great player of pull shot and a superb fighter. From an Indian supporter's PoV Ponting was possibly the biggest cricketer villain to come ever since Javed Miandad (talking about cricketers - so excluding Greg Chappell). He went up quite a few notches in my eyes during the last few years of his test batsmanship - had a never-say-die attitude and played to win, always. Still remember his heart-breaking expression after losing the World Cup Quarter-final - gave the impression of a straightforward person trying his best to win - he won 2 World Cups as captain, was the captain of world's no. 1 test side for a long time - still a World Cup QF match meant so much to him. Have a rocking post-retirement life champ.

 

[CricAddict]

Ah,so Ponting goes after Dravid. Kallis is the only great batsman remaining from that generation now (I consider Tendulkar from a different generation of batsmen along with Lara, Waugh etc).

Chanders too from the mid 1990s..WAG..

 

[CricAddict]

Bhajji says, Ponting is in the top 5 list of batsmen that he has bowled to..Not sure who are the other 5..
Such a ****..

 

[Daemon]

Bhajji says, Ponting is in the top 5 list of batsmen that he has bowled to..Not sure who are the other 5..
Such a ****..

What's wrong with that? He must've bowled against Dravid and Sachin as well in Ranji, don't forget.

 

[uvelocity]

it's a massive troll to get that ****'s opinion and whack it on the front page though

 

[smash84]

it's a massive troll to get that ****'s opinion and whack it on the front page though

yeah....doesn't seem to fit on the front page

 

[Bahnz]

Even if he did bear an uncanny resemblance to George W Bush, Ponting will always be one of my favourite cricketers. Mixed the tough-as-nails will of Border with the power of Gilchrist and the grace of Chappell. Even if he has fallen away in the last few years he remains Australia's best post-Bradman batsman imo.

 

[Daemon]

it's a massive troll to get that ****'s opinion and whack it on the front page though

Maybe. But he's pretty much the sole reason for Ponting's only blemish in his batting career so for him to say he was a great player to play against is still showing respect..somehow.

 

[Salamuddin]

Maybe. But he's pretty much the sole reason for Ponting's only blemish in his batting career so for him to say he was a great player to play against is still showing respect..somehow.

POnting is on record as saying that Harbhajan is on of the toughest bowlers he faced which I think says quite a lot about Bhaji's ability.

A great spin bowler who IMO has never quite gotten his due - maybe past his best now but still a great bowler. 400 test wickets is no mean feat.

 

[smash84]

POnting is on record as saying that Harbhajan is on of the toughest bowlers he faced which I think says quite a lot about Bhaji's ability.

A great spin bowler who IMO has never quite gotten his due - maybe past his best now but still a great bowler. 400 test wickets used to be no mean feat.

fixed

 

[burr]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Burgey
Don't let us stop you, ****...

Great player. Best Aussie batsman since G Chappell IMO, and by some margin. What a player. This really is the end of the great australian era - the last of the greats retires.

Pretty big call that.

His pull shot was a thing of beauty though.
__________________

How do you get both quotes to show on a reply on this thing?

Anyway, I don't consider that a big call (best by some margin since Chappell). The big call would be to say he is better than Chappell, which in my opinion is a reasonable call, but I didn't see Chappell bat and don't want to get into that argument anyway.

For mine, Ponting was clearing a class above the other great Australian batsman like Border, Waugh, Gilchrist etc. I think people's opinions have been tainted by recent years but in the 2000s he was untouchable. I remember being almost frustrated at his seemingly complete inability to fail. 100 tests for a near 60 average batting at 3 is pretty damn impressive. Anyway, I so desperately want him to get a hundred tomorrow. Doubt it will happen.

On another note, I also love Punter because of his clearly sceptical attitude towards T20 cricket. Cricinfo has a great article quoting him on how a 35 Sheffield Shield average in his day was unacceptable. Now, it will get you a place in the test side. Loved that smack down of current players. I truly hope he isn't lured by the money and resorts to playing T20 in India. Ugh. He's too good for that.

 

[silentstriker]

Have a link to that article? I'd like to read it.

 

[weldone]

Ah,so Ponting goes after Dravid. Kallis is the only great batsman remaining from that generation now (I consider Tendulkar from a different generation of batsmen along with Lara, Waugh etc).

I'll remember Ponting as a great player of pull shot and a superb fighter. From an Indian supporter's PoV Ponting was possibly the biggest cricketer villain to come ever since Javed Miandad (talking about cricketers - so excluding Greg Chappell). He went up quite a few notches in my eyes during the last few years of his test batsmanship - had a never-say-die attitude and played to win, always. Still remember his heart-breaking expression after losing the World Cup Quarter-final - gave the impression of a straightforward person trying his best to win - he won 2 World Cups as captain, was the captain of world's no. 1 test side for a long time - still a World Cup QF match meant so much to him. Have a rocking post-retirement life champ.

And yes, best Aussie batsman since Steve Waugh too...

 

[weldone]

maybe. But he's pretty much the sole reason for ponting's only blemish in his batting career so for him to say he was a great player to play against is still showing respect..somehow.

awta

 

[ankitj]

Tribute from Dravid. Good read:
Rahul Dravid : Rahul Dravid: Ricky Ponting, the eternal battler | Cricinfo Magazine | ESPN Cricinfo

With all top-class players, what starts to go, I think, is not the runs, but the inevitability of being able to score those runs, the assurance of performance. When we went to Australia in 2003-04, there was an inevitability to Ponting scoring runs, and sure enough, he got two double-centuries in the series. It was understood that this guy was going to make us pay.

By the time we played him in 2012, that inevitability had gone, that sense of the expected. It's not that they can't score or that they won't, but the certainty in their batting goes. You know you can fight for some time, like Ricky did, because you don't want to let other people down, but I think he did realise in the end that he doesn't want to play sport like that. Cricket will be the poorer without him but retirements are like the runs made by the great players - inevitable.

 

[smash84]

wonderfully well written piece

 

[kyear2]

The second of the Big Three of our generation to retire, a Great batsman who along with Cahppell the greatest Australian batsmen since Bradman. I think someone earlier said it best that he had the toughness of Border, the power of Gilchrist and the grace of Chappell. He could take any attack apart and at his peak probably was the best of the modern batsmen. Hated, and feared him when he played againts us, until the last test in Barbados when I found myself rooting for him to score a hundred, thats the respect that had grown for the man.
Everyone talks about what a great all round fielder he was, and he was superb, but at 2nd slip he was one of the greatest ever and some of his catches were just amazing and turned matches.
Truely one of the ATGs and will be missed.

 

[doesitmatter]

Everyone talks about what a great all round fielder he was, and he was superb, but at 2nd slip he was one of the greatest ever and some of his catches were just amazing and turned matches.
Truely one of the ATGs and will be missed.

Agree with the slip catching ..i mainly like the way he caught above the head ones..

 

[Red]

Where's our Faf to replace Ricky?