Ricky Ponting
Ricky Ponting
Ricky Thomas Ponting, AO, nicknamed Punter, is an Australian former cricketer who was captain of the Australia national cricket team during its 'golden era'; between 2004 and 2011 in Test cricket and 2002 and 2011 in One Day International cricket. He is a specialist right-handed batsman, slips and close catching fielder, as well as a very occasional bowler. Ponting holds the incredible record of being the only cricketer in the history of Test cricket to be a part of 100...
NationalityAustralian
ProfessionCricket Player
Date of Birth19 December 1974
CityLaunceston, Australia
CountryAustralia
The thing about our batsmen right now is it's not as if anyone is going through a lean trot. Guys are getting 20 and 30 and 40 and getting out, which is fairly unusual for our players, ... To win Test matches you have to have those big scores made. You have to make hundreds in Test cricket, that's what it's all about. They're just not doing that right now. There's no doubt we'll sit down and talk about some of the individuals, but I must admit I'd be surprised if any changes were made.
Every individual has got to put their hand up and stand up in a game that counts... There's no other option now, if guys can't get up for a game like the one we've got coming up, then they shouldn't be playing. I wouldn't think a batting change would come from outside the squad, and to tell the truth I don't think a bowling change would either.
We have relied heavily on Warne and McGrath and, as a captain, I will always go to those two guys because I know they will give me pretty much what I ask for every time,
We're going to need some experienced guys back in the Test side if Glenn doesn't come back, so I'm sure their names will be at the top of the list.
A lot of our guys are in good form, there's a good feeling around the team and if we get out there and start the test match well I'm sure South Africa will find it hard to beat us.
A few of our guys in the side knew him a lot better than I did, Shane Warne being one of those. Shane was a pretty close friend of Kerry's, so it's an extremely sad day and it's a huge loss for the cricket community.
The older guys have been the ones who have performed the best, so how do you move them on?
I know I am not going to keep everybody happy along the way, but as long as I look after the guys in my dressing-room I'm okay.
We just tried to pick the best team we can for this game,
We just gave away too big a start,
It would be nice if we could have that showdown that everyone is looking at: the Pakistani fast bowlers against all our fast bowlers. Brett certainly hasn't been ruled out yet.
As I have seen over the last two days of this game, a lot of that fight is there but just not for long enough. If we want to win Test matches, it has to be over the four days, we have to be at our best for four days.
Brett is like he is because of his pace. If he drops back he becomes easier to hit so we addressed that last night. It's a confidence thing and about understanding the way he has to bowl. We've addressed these issues quite a few times with Brett, we did it with his one-day bowling a few years ago, and hopefully today is a step in right direction.
The team the West Indies picked was fairly light on with their batting and we knew that if we made some early in-roads that we might be able to go through them reasonably quickly.