Ricky Ponting has attracted the
universal praise in retirement that sometimes eluded him during his Test
cricket career as friends and old rivals united to pay tribute after the former
Australia captain announced he will end his 168-Test career after this week's
match against South Africa.
Australia's Parliament temporarily suspended business on Thursday to pay
tribute to Ponting, setting aside weeks of rancor to express bipartisan
admiration for one of the nation's finest sportsmen.
"I am sure even in a Parliament ruled with the sort of lack of civility of
the opposition we could spend one moment celebrating what has been a great
cricketing career," Prime Minister Julia Gillard was quoted as saying.
Gillard said Ponting's retirement meant "he is going to go into the next
phase of his life with a lot of gratitude and a lot of thanks from the
Australian community — full as it is with cricket 'tragics'."
Opposition lawmakers set aside recent animosities and joined Gillard in
praising Ponting's "superb innings."
"He is undoubtedly one of the all-time greats of one of the very great
games," Coalition leader Tony Abbott said. "He is someone that I
think all young Australians can look up to."
South Africa captain Graeme Smith said he was initially shocked to hear of
Ponting's sudden decision to retire on the eve of the third Test, which will
determine which team is ranked No. 1.
"I've played a lot against Ricky and (he's) certainly the most competitive
man I've played against," Smith said. "I think the way he played the
game and intensity with which he played the game is a credit to him. I think
he's always represented Australia with a lot of dignity and a lot of skill.
"From a South African perspective and a personal perspective, we have a
lot of respect for the man and we'll wish him best after these five days."
Smith said Ponting had been an asset to the game of cricket.
Ponting was sometimes considered surly by fans and critics if things weren't
going Australia's way, but he was widely respected for his single-minded
determination to win.
"The thing I liked about him was that he was always trying to win the
game," former Test captain turned television commentator Ian Chappell
said.
"He was always prepared to take the attack to the bowlers," he said.
"He was a very aggressive player, looking to dominate. Not only a skillful
... batsman, but a very brave one."
Rivals and former teammates were quick to take to social media in praise of
Ponting's contribution to Australian and world cricket throughout a 17-year
Test career.
Ponting's retirement even cooled the rivalry between Australia and England for
cricket's Ashes which may have been the defining contest of his career. Ponting
lost three of the Ashes Test series in which he captained Australia, starting in
2005 when England broke a drought that stretched back to 1980s.
England batsman Kevin Pietersen was among those praising Ponting, joining
thousands who expressed their admiration on social networks to describe his
on-field rival as "one of the greats"
"I always got excited playing Australia, so I could watch him up
close," said the South African born Pietersen, who is in India playing for
England.
England wicketkeeper Matt Prior said "congrats to Ricky Ponting on an
amazing career. One of, if not the best, batsman I ever played against and a
fierce opponent."
Current Australian Test opener David Warner tweeted that Ponting had enjoyed an
"outstanding career and will be missed by everyone."
Michael Clarke, who succeeded Ponting as Australia captain last year after
being a long-time teammate, was so shocked at the retirement announcement that
he had to cut short a news conference when asked about the atmosphere in the
room when the former skipper first broke the news that Perth would be his last
Test.
Clarke composed himself for a later television interview, explaining: "I'm
emotional because he has played such a big part I guess for Australian cricket.
"He has played a huge part in my career. I have only even known cricket,
certainly Test cricket, for Australia with him. He is a huge part of the
team."
Clarke has played 85 Test matches, and Ponting has been beside him for all but
a couple of those.
"He's an amazing player. He was an amazing captain, is a great friend and
it's going to be tough to go into a Test match without him being there,"
Clarke told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. "What a player he's been.
He's been a great ambassador for the sport — not just for Australia but
around the world."
Profile of Ponting:
Full name Ricky Thomas Ponting
Born December 19, 1974, Launceston,
Tasmania
Current age 37 years 353 days
Major teams Australia, ICC World XI,
Kolkata Knight Riders, Somerset, Tasmania
Nickname Punter
Playing role Top-order batsman
Batting style Right-hand bat.
Bowling style Right-arm medium
Height 1.78 m
Education Mowbray Primary; Brooks Senior
High School, Launceston
Career statistics
Batting
and fielding averages :
|
Mat
|
Inns
|
NO
|
Runs
|
HS
|
Ave
|
BF
|
SR
|
100
|
50
|
4s
|
6s
|
Ct
|
St
|
|
Tests
|
168
|
287
|
29
|
13378
|
257
|
51.85
|
22782
|
58.72
|
41
|
62
|
1509
|
73
|
196
|
0
|
|
ODIs
|
375
|
365
|
39
|
13704
|
164
|
42.03
|
17046
|
80.39
|
30
|
82
|
1231
|
162
|
160
|
0
|
|
T20Is
|
17
|
16
|
2
|
401
|
98*
|
28.64
|
302
|
132.78
|
0
|
2
|
41
|
11
|
8
|
0
|
|
First-class
|
280
|
478
|
59
|
23101
|
257
|
55.13
|
|
|
78
|
103
|
|
|
298
|
0
|
|
List A
|
451
|
441
|
53
|
16221
|
164
|
41.80
|
|
|
34
|
98
|
|
|
193
|
0
|
|
Twenty20
|
23
|
22
|
2
|
477
|
98*
|
23.85
|
394
|
121.06
|
0
|
2
|
46
|
13
|
10
|
0
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Test debut
|
Australia v Sri Lanka at Perth,
Dec 8-11, 1995
|
Last Test
|
Australia v South Africa at Perth,
Nov 30-Dec 3, 2012
|
Test statistics
|
|
ODI debut
|
Australia
v South Africa at Wellington, Feb 15, 1995
|
Last ODI
|
Australia
v India at Brisbane, Feb 19, 2012
|
ODI statistics
|
|
T20I debut
|
New
Zealand v Australia at Auckland, Feb 17, 2005
|
Last T20I
|
Australia
v Sri Lanka at Nottingham, Jun 8, 2009
|
T20I statistics
|
|
First-class
debut
|
1992/93
|
Last First-class
|
Australia
v South Africa at Perth, Nov 30-Dec 3, 2012
|
List A debut
|
1992/93
|
Last List A
|
Tasmania
v South Australia at Hobart, Oct 30, 2012
|
Twenty20 debut
|
Somerset v Northamptonshire at
Taunton, Jul 15, 2004
Last Twenty20:
Perth Scorchers v Hobart
Hurricanes at Perth, Dec 18, 2011
|
|
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|
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