Ricky Ponting Expressed Fears about Youngsters Inclination for Money-Making T20

Australian captain Ricky Ponting has said that youngsters should have the desire to play as much international cricket as possible. He thinks that money around the T20 tournaments like IPL and Champions Trophy have decreased youngsters’ attitude towards the game as they are less interested to represent their country in international stage.

Ricky Ponting has retired from Twenty20 international to focus more on Test and ODI formats of the game and he believes that next generation should also follow his footstep to give enough focus on the longer versions of the game besides Twenty20.

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Ricky Ponting: Michael Clarke Deserves Twenty20 Captaincy

Ricky Ponting said that Michael Clarke should be given the Twenty20 captaincy. Ponting recently announcement his retirement from T20 format in order to concentrate more on test and ODI formats of the games. Cricket Australia has not yet named any new captain for Australia’s twenty20 squad, but it is pretty much certain that Clarke would the man to be appointed twenty20 captain of Australia.

Ponting would continue leading Australia in Test and ODI cricket. He has been full of praise about Clarke stating that his deputy has done a terrific job and deserves the captaincy of Australian team in twenty20 international.

I agree with Ponting in this regard and believe that Michael Clarke has shown his ability and skill as a leader in the absence of Ponting both in twenty20 and ODI cricket. So, Michael Clarke is the perfect man to lead Australia in the shortest version of the game.

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Australian Captain Ricky Ponting Quits from Twenty20 International

Australian captain Ricky Ponting has announced his retirement from Twenty20 format of cricket. In an attempt to prolong his illustrious career in test and ODI cricket, Ponting has decided to quit the shortest version of the game. No doubt, Ponting has been under pressure since losing the Ashes 2009 series to England, and thus, losing the hold of prestigious Ashes title. Many even asked for Ponting’s sacking as Australia’s captain following the Ashes defeat.

Actually, I think, Ricky Ponting had no part behind Australia’s ordinary performance. The squad is considerably young and going through a formation period since the retirement of some of the former greats like Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne. However, I think, Ponting’s decision to retire from T20 is good for his career. These days, cricket calendar is compact and Australia, like many other teams, is playing a lot around the world. So, aged players like Ponting need enough rest for delivering their best to Australia.

Moreover, by this move, Ponting might have come out of the pressure he had since the Ashes defeat. It is pretty much understandable that Ponting’s deputy Michael Clarke would be appointed as new captain of Australia’s twenty20 squad.

What Australia Needs to Bring Back its Dominance over Cricket World?

Australian captain Ricky Ponting is now under fire after Australia lost the recent Ashes 2009 series to England. There are many who are calling for sacking of Ponting as team captain and giving the responsibility to someone else. Well, Ponting has now said that he has no problem in sharing the leadership with his current deputy Michael Clarke. In fact, he is ready to keep himself reserved only for test captaincy, handing over the leadership to Clarke for the limited over matches.

The same thing happened when Ponting was appointed captain of Australia’s one-day side in 2002, while Steve Waugh who was still leading the Aussies in the longer version of the game. Ponting got the test captaincy only when Waugh retired from international cricket in 2004.

To be honest, I think, Ricky Ponting has made a smart move by declaring that he is ready to hand over the ODI and Twenty20 captaincy to Michael Clarke. It shows that Ponting does not have any special attraction for the captaincy role. However, those who are thinking about his replacement do not understand the fact that Australian team is much less stronger than it was even two years back. It is a team which is going through a formation period and it is not a task of a day or two to make the side as dominating as it was 4 or 5 years back.

So, I think, replacing a captain like Ponting, who has achieved almost everything with Australia both as a player as well as a captain, would not bring any overnight-change in Australia’s performance. What Australia needs to do is to make a long term plan under which the board will be working to make another word-dominating side within next 4 or 5 years. You might ask me that what would then happen in the next 4 or 5 years?

Well, you have to accept the fact that for long term sustainable success, you have to sacrifice some short term successes in the near future. The most important thing is that Australia needs the replacement of the likes McGrath, Warne, Martin, Bevan and many other former stars who left the international circuit over the last few years. You know it very well that finding replacements of the players of this stature is not something very easy.

So, Australian cricket needs two things: one is a long term plan under which some world class players will be developed at every age level and the second thing is the acceptability of sacrificing some short term successes in order for bigger, sustainable, long term success.

Future of Test Cricket Uncertain?

(This entry was originally published on Saturday, March 14th, 2009)

Australian captain Ricky Ponting thinks that the future of test cricket is bleak due to the overgrowing popularity of Twenty20 format in world cricket. He has expressed his concern on the fact that the new generation might be more focused on the glamorous Twenty20 where money is all around. Australian Cricketers’ Association has recently conducted a survey among the 25 players who are centrally contracted with Cricket Australia (CA). The result of the survey is really something very shocking for those who would like to see Cricket’s traditional format, test cricket, continuing with its pride in the years to come. In fact, about half of the players surveyed have said that they give priority to Twenty20 cricket over test cricket.

To be honest, I do not want test cricket lose its popularity day by day, but no body can change the reality. I think, Twenty20 has come at the right time in cricket. It has provided what cricket was lacking for a long time in their bid to popularize the game across the world. Cricket is not yet a sport which is widely popular in every corner of the world. To achieve that feat, Twetny20 can play a big part for Cricket. Test cricket is very time consuming and people in Europe and America would not like to involve in a game where it is played over five days and there is no certainty if the five-day action would bring a result in the match or not. So, I think, ICC should come up with some changes in test cricket in order to make it more interesting among the cricket fans. Otherwise, the future of test cricket is really very dark.

Ricky Ponting Insists Australia to Remain No. 1

(This entry was originally posted in this blog on December 4, 2008 and the information is based on that time.)

Australian captain Ricky Ponting said that his team would remain at the top of the world ranking at the end of this year, even though they were beaten by South Africa in the upcoming test series, beginning from 17 December. Australia lost the test series 2-0 in India before defeating New Zealand at home. However, the upcoming test series against England is considered to be a tough test for the world champions. There is no doubt, India is eyeing on the top spot in the ranking, while South Africa also wants to bag the no. 1 place in test ranking now, given Australia’s recent inconsistency.

Cricinfo reported:

“It has taken us a long time and a lot of great wins in different conditions around the world to get us to that No. 1 spot,” Ponting told AAP. “If South Africa beat us 3-0 I don’t know if that gives them enough points to get over us.

“But if they won the series 1-0 or 2-1, I don’t think that would mean that they deserve to take over that mantle. It’s a bit the same with India last series. Just because they beat us, the No. 1 team, doesn’t necessarily mean they go from the No. 4 or No. 5 in the world to No. 1 in the world, because it’s something that’s accrued over a long period of time.”

South Africa has been in an excellent form now. They recently demolished Bangladesh in the home series and even before that, they pulled off a historic test series victory in England. So, South Africa will take on Australia full of confidence, while Australia will try to forget the bitter experience of their India tour and seek inspiration from their recent home victory over New Zealand.

Ricky Ponting Survived a Wrist Blow

Australian captain Ricky Ponting survived a blow to his right wrist on Saturday. A Michael Hussey shot hit Ponting’s wrist, leaving the captain sidelined for the rest of the session. However, it has been reported that Ponting could avoid a major injury this time ahead of their world twenty20 mission starting from 6 June with their opening match against West Indies. It is noteworthy that the batsman underwent a wrist surgery last year.

No doubt, Ricky Ponting is one of the key player of Australian team and one of those few players who carry experience with him. So, missing the captain would have been a huge blow to Australia’s bid to win the twenty20 world cup 2009. The injury was minor and the team physio did not feel any need to have Ponting’s wrist X-rayed. Ponting is now preparing with Australian team at Nottingham for the upcoming twenty20 world cup 2009. Australia will play two warm up matches against Bangladesh and New Zealand on Sunday and Tuesday respectively.

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Ricky Ponting on Twenty20 World Cup 2009

Australian captain Ricky Ponting said that the upcoming twenty20 world cup 2009 is big incentives for Australia as they are currently hold the ICC World Cup and ICC Champions Trophy titles. Ponting added that winning all three tournaments would be a nice thing. He said that playing one or two twenty20 internationals and participating in twenty20 world cup are pretty much different in terms of preparation. Ponting thinks that it is necessary to be well prepared for twenty20 cricket.

Australian captain admitted that there are players in the Australian squad who did not play many twenty20 internationals, but he was happy to see some of the players had just come from IPL 2009. Ponting is also very delighted to have some time off from cricket as he missed IPL 2009 and Australia’s five-match ODI series and one-off twenty20 against Pakistan in UAE because he thinks remaining fresh is very important.

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Ricky Ponting Hopeful about ODI Success against South Africa

After losing the two-match Twenty20 series to South Africa, Australian captain Ricky Ponting is now hopeful to bounce back in the upcoming five-match ODI series starting from April 3, 2009. No doubt, after winning the test series by 2-1 margin, Australia was hoping to clinch the twenty20 series as well. However, Ricky Ponting’s men could not stand up to the 20-over games, but the Australian captain is now confident about a strong come back in the ODI series which kicks off with the first ODI being gone underway in Durban coming Friday. Australia is also looking to retain their no. 1 spot in ODI ranking that they lost in earlier in January after being defeated by South Africa 4-1 at home. So, Australian players are also gearing up to take revenge of their 4-1 ODI series defeat at home and this is a very good chance for the Ricky Ponting boys to prove their credential of becoming the no. 1 team in ODI cricket.

Both Australia and South Africa features some of the new faces in the twenty20 series ahead of this year’s Twenty20 world cup which will take place in England. Australia featured medium pacers Brett Geeves and Ben Laughlin, while South Africa brought in left arm pacer Yusuf Abdulla and all rounder Roelof van der Merwe whose match winning 48 runs in the second twenty20 is considered to play a big role behind his ODI debut in the forthcoming ODI series.

Shane Harwood and David Warner have gone back home after the end of the twenty20 series. Both Australia and South Africa would bring about a number of changes in their first eleven for the first ODI. Ricky Ponting has backed left arm pacer Nathan Bracken had a nightmarish performance in Australia’s 17-run defeat in the second twenty20 international as the pacer conceded 44 runs in his 4 overs with one wicket. However, Ponting believes that Nathan Bracken has excellent strength and has backed him for a strong come back in the ODI series, stating that the bowler was little bit of under prepared for the twenty20 game.

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Cricinfo