The PlanetCricket View: Ricky Ponting to make his announcement this week

Joined
Jan 13, 2010
Article by baggy_blogger -

The big news this week is that Ricky Ponting has been dropped from the ODI side following 5 games where the maestro of Australian batting was unable to deliver substantial contributions following one of his most epic Test series in Australia. It?s baffling and quite upsetting that things have gone from such a high to a low, to the point where we are awaiting a decision from Punter with regards to his future.

For the two most up-to-date sources: Cricinfo source 1, Cricinfo source 2.

Understandably this decision was a bold one and kudos to John Inverarity and his selectors as I wouldn?t have wanted to have made this call, but it?s the nature of competitive sport.
Given the competitive character and inner fight that makes Punter one of sports grittiest blokes around, he would have been numbed by this but no doubt he?d see the reasoning.
He?s a team player and that is why I have always held him in high regard and why he?s inspired me.

The question now is whether Punter will call it a day for just limited overs cricket and be able to cash in on some State cricket for Tassie as his Test career continues for 12 months or more, but maybe this will make him re-evaluate his prospects to rather focus on his family and personal matters and retire altogether from the game that has been his life.

I wonder, given his love of the game, whether he would consider fading out in the State cricket scene, but this seems unlikely given the limited amount of cricket he has played for Tassie since the early 2000s.
Should Punter decide to carry on with Test cricket, he?ll need an avenue to stay sharp given after the Windies Tour (3 Tests) there won?t be a great deal of cricket to follow.

So, we will have to wait for the decision but irrespective it does seem that although with Punter you just never know how is capable of turning things around, this may very well be the end of Punter?s ODI career.
What a career! Longevity doesn?t come easy and only the best of the best have this opportunity due to their raw talent, ability to adapt and dedication to good work ethic.

The thought of not seeing Punter playing cricket again is a sad thought for me and the reason why this news has upset me. I am by no means questioning the National Selection Panel.
If anything I admire them for their recent transparency, especially regarding this decision and the appointment of Matt Wade as the full time ODI wicket keeper for Australia.

I?ve said all I needed to say on this blog over the last 4 years as to howPunter has inspired me since I was a 9 year old kid with cricketing dreams and how the values of his profession I have somewhat admired and tried to carry through within avenues of my life outside the game.
It?s important to acknowledge those who inspire us, whether we know them personally or through their trade.

Cricket is just a game but knowing the challenges and sacrifices players make to get to the elite level in this ever-changing, highly competitive world makes you see the bigger picture.

Should this be the end of Punter?s ODI career, here?s a look at his statistics with some personal video highlights.
We can expect a decision this week (quite likely Tuesday) as to what Punter decides to do for his future in the game.

From The Baggy Green Blog we wish him all the best with this tough decision.

Ricky Ponting ODI Career statistics:

Played : 375
Innings : 365
NO : 39
Avg : 42.03
Runs : 13,074
HS : 164
SR : 80-39
100s : 30
50s : 82
4?s : 1231
6?s : 162

Catches : 160
Bowling : 5 innings, 3 wickets, 150 runs, BBI 1-12, Average 34.66

List of ODI Centuries (score, opposition, city, when)

164 v South Africa, Johannesburg 12 Mar 2006
145 v Zimbabwe, Delhi 11 Apr 1998
141 * v New Zealand, Napier 5 Mar 2005
140 * v India, Johannesburg 23 Mar 2003
134 * v New Zealand, Hobart 20 Dec 2007
129 v South Africa, Bloemfontein 30 Mar 2002
126 2 v England, Nottingham 15 Sep 2009
124 * v Pakistan, Lahore 10 Nov 1998
124 v Sri Lanka, Sydney 12 Feb 2006
124 v India, Sydney 24 Feb 2008
123 v Sri Lanka, Melbourne 9 Jan 1996
119 v England, Melbourne 15 Dec 2002
115 v India, Melbourne 12 Jan 2000
115 v Asia XI, Melbourne 10 Jan 2005
114 v Sri Lanka, Centurion 7 Mar 2003
113 v Scotland, Basseterre 14 Mar 2007
111 * v England, Centurion 2 Oct 2009
111 v England, Lord’s 10 Jul 2005
111 v New Zealand, Perth 28 Jan 2007
108 * v India, Bangalore 12 Nov 2003
107 * v New Zealand, Adelaide 14 Dec 2007
106 * v Sri Lanka, Melbourne 21 Jan 2003
106 v West Indies, Brisbane 14 Feb 2010
104 v New Zealand, Melbourne 4 Feb 2007
104 v India, Ahmedabad 24 Mar 2011
102 v West Indies, Jaipur 4 Mar 1996
102 v England, Bristol 10 Jun 2001
101 v India, Visakhapatnam 3 Apr 2001
101 v Bangladesh, Darwin 6 Aug 2003
100 v New Zealand, Melbourne 21 Jan 1998

Centuries in Australia: 14
Centuries out of Australia: 16


World Cup Statistics:
1996, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011 World Cups.

Played: 46 matches
Runs: 1743
Avg: 45.86
HS: 140*
100s: 5
50s: 6

1996 World Cup: 7 matches, 229 runs, HS 102, Average 32.71, ?x1?100s

1999 World Cup: 10 matches, 354 runs, HS 69, Average 39.33

2003 World Cup: 11 matches, 415 runs, HS 140*, Average 51.87, x2?100s

2007 World Cup: 11 matches, 539 runs, HS 113, Average 67.37, x1 100

2011 World Cup: 7 matches, 206 runs, HS 104, Average 34.33, x1 100

As Captain he averaged 52.72 in World Cups and 36.43 not as Captain.
Quite a number of achievements here, let alone 13,074 runs with 30 centuries.

134* vs New Zealand in 2007.

140* vs India in the 2003 World Cup final. Classic!

164 vs South Africa in the 438 game, 2006.

Century in the 2011 World Cup Quarter Final vs India.

This image was my first introduction to Punter back in 1994/95. When I saw him live I was instantly an avid follower of his career. It’s been epic to have followed his 17 year career.


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StinkyBoHoon

National Board President
Joined
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Location
Glasgow, Scotland
well, he sort of retired. bit of an odd situation really, he's been rubbish for almost 2 years and then all of a sudden he looks back to his best and then he's out of the ODI team.

doesn't really sound like he felt playing the two formats was a problem, which is interesting as we often say players should quite odi's to extend test careers but he seems to be saying he'll fill the hole ODI cricket will leave with as much domestic cricket as possible.

perhaps it's only relevant for bowlers.
 

Rehan_24

Panel of Selectors
Joined
Nov 2, 2009
Its sad if Ponting wont get his farewell One Day International. Such a Master-Class and probably the best batsman world cricket has ever seen retiring in such fashion is surely sad for me and for other punter fans....

But if we look at the brighter side, other nations boards should learn from Cricket Australia. Decide on merit I will say to other boards rather than selecting people on names and records, Rather, see the performance be it Younas Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq and Sachin Tendulkar....
 

sifter132

Panel of Selectors
Joined
Oct 29, 2006
Location
NSW
Well I think the selectors have made some mistakes here. Dropping Ponting is not so bad in isolation, but their selections in the last couple of weeks have been a bit, um, confusing to me. I'm gonna write something about it :yes

Anyway, I found this perspective interesting:
Ponting self-indulgent: Lawson | Cricket | Fox Sports
Basically Geoff Lawson found Ponting's press conference very self centred. It's a little bit harsher than I would have said, but yeah calling a press conference for yourself seems a bit self indulgent to begin with, especially when you aren't really sharing anything of note ie. he didn't retire. Could have easily released a statement saying he was playing on.
 

Rehan_24

Panel of Selectors
Joined
Nov 2, 2009
Lawson comments though are sincere for Cricket Australia but I guess he is going a bit harsh. Ponting still has strength to make centuries in Test Cricket. Though I am not sure about Ashes 2013, but he surely should play test series against West-Indies, whether he performs in shield games or not should not be cause of concern because at this stage Ponting has nothing to prove to selectors. A class player like him can bounce back at anytime. The junior players has still a chance to benefit from his vast experience in test cricket.
 

sami ullah khan

Panel of Selectors
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Location
Islamabad
Online Cricket Games Owned
  1. Don Bradman Cricket 14 - PS3
One of the Top 3 batsmen of last decade deserved better than this treatment. He should have been allowed to bow out on his own terms after he did so much for his country. I have always rated him as the best of his era. He was more dominating that Sachin IMHO. I will miss watching him perform in colored clothing for Australia.
 

Papa_Smurf

International Cricketer
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Smurf Village
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I think he deserves a fair-well game. If India loose any of their up-coming games, then perhaps the dead-rubber between Aus and SL.
 

sifter132

Panel of Selectors
Joined
Oct 29, 2006
Location
NSW
I'd love to see him crack a 100 for Tassie today, then he's probably one injury away from getting back in the squad. So that would be a great little turnaround. I think Australia need his fielding at the moment, some runs would be good too, but Ponting's still the best in-the-ring fielder we've got. Warner's pretty good, but does better work on the fence I think.
 

sifter132

Panel of Selectors
Joined
Oct 29, 2006
Location
NSW
My scenario almost happened last night :cheers Ricky only made a 70 not a 100, but Clarke is potentially injured and may need to get someone in as cover. George Bailey also played well of course, but it would be interesting to see if the selectors would be willing to go back to Ponting. After all, surely it was only his recent form that was in question. If he'd made 70 in Brisbane last week, he'd still be in the squad.
 

Sedition

Panel of Selectors
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Location
Country NSW
Online Cricket Games Owned
He did offer some chances though. Dropped on 6 and 60 odd, both by Cooper. Almost ran Bailey out at some point early on too, pretty much a drop and run by Ponting and Bailey would've been gone with a direct hit. Just didn't look like a vintage Punter knock to me.
 

swacker

Chairman of Selectors
Joined
Sep 27, 2011
Online Cricket Games Owned
  1. Don Bradman Cricket 14 - PS3
I hope he keeps playing, but the way he has been frozen by CA is utter rubbish!

Yes he has had a slender run, there's no argument about that. But when you ask a bloke to step up and lead his country again, he gets a overwhelming win against India, and is then kicked to the curb the next day? For someone who is the most capped ODI player, the leading run scorer in tests and ODI's, and who has just come off a double hundred in his last test innings to be dried like that is utterly dreadful. Yes, his ODI career is coming to a close, but give him the cork on the shoulder in private, and let him annouce his retirement at the end of the CBA series. This way, he can maintain some worth, and so we can give him the respect he deserves.
 

Rehan_24

Panel of Selectors
Joined
Nov 2, 2009
That was really surprizing to me that He captained the game and in the next one he was dropped from the squad. Though he didnt perform in that game in the batting but he performed as captain..
 

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