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
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.
As an individual, if you are not playing as well as you like, you are always putting a bit more pressure on yourself,
This loss will definitely hang around for a long time on the one-day scene and in our minds as well.
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.
The older guys have been the ones who have performed the best, so how do you move them on?
If you look at the first morning in Brisbane when we were 4-111, I think their intensity was up pretty high then,
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.
It was a game dominated by the ball and mostly by our bowlers.
If we can squeeze a few more runs out of the tail and then bowl well first thing in their innings it could be very interesting. That's not a bad total and it could be an even better one if we bowl well tomorrow - it's certainly not the end of the world as far as we're concerned.
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.
I think any time you lose an Ashes series, especially with the hype and build-up surrounding it and the pride we have as Australians playing against England, that's always hard to take.
It was a long, hard, tough day. We managed to just sneak through, it was an unbelievable Test match.
We have played so well that the guys have really made my job fairly easy.
It's nice to put your hand up and do the big things the team requires of you.