Ricky Ponting: News

One of the biggest proponents of the Australian way of playing cricket was one of the best batsmen to ever play the game. Tough, aggressive, and with a never-give-up attitude, Ricky Ponting took the Australian team to new heights in the first decade of the 21st century. When Ponting made his international debut in an ODI against South Africa in 1995, he was only 20 years old. His Test debut came in the same year against Sri Lanka. He did not have the best of starts as disciplinary issues meddled with his on-field performances. However, with every passing year, he matured as a player. In 2002, he became the captain of the Australian team. Ponting’s steely nerves as a batsman reflected in his captaincy as well. Under his captaincy, Australia won two consecutive World Cups. It wasn’t all rainbows and unicorns for Ponting the captain though. Australia lost three Ashes series against arch-rivals England under him. At the time of his retirement in 2012, he had scored a whopping 71 centuries in Tests and ODIs combined. Most rate him as the second-best batsman to ever play for Australia, only behind Don Bradman.