Ponting to retire from test cricket
Source: Agencies |
November 30, 2012, Friday
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RICKY Ponting dropped his guard momentarily, his rugged, uncompromising exterior cracking while he told teammates that this test against South Africa will be his last.
The timing, and the delivery, caught everyone by surprise - none more than Michael Clarke, Ponting's successor as Australia captain, long-time understudy, and also a member of the panel of selectors.
Ponting, who will turn 38 next month and equal Steve Waugh's Australian record with his 168th test cap starting today in Perth, managed to compose himself and present a resolute image to a domestic media contingent that has speculated for more than a year about when the former skipper should or would call an end to his international career.
"A few hours ago I let the boys know of my decision to make this test my last," Ponting started. He continued, "I tried to say a lot but I didn't get much out.
"They'd never seen me emotional before, but I was this morning."
Ponting's wife, Rianna, and their two daughters were in the news conference room, along with all of his Australian teammates, coach Mickey Arthur and chief selector John Inverarity in a unanimous show of support.
Clarke couldn't hold back the tears when it was his turn to speak in front of the cameras after Ponting had made his news public.
"The boys are obviously hurting at the moment. He's been an amazing player for a long time," Clarke said, before drawing a few deep breaths, taking time as he contemplated a question posed about the atmosphere in the room when Ponting broke the news to his teammates. "And that'll do me for today. Sorry, I can't answer that."
He will continue to play for Tasmania in the domestic competition this summer.
Ponting made his test debut at the WACA in Perth against Sri Lanka in 1995, as a young batsman. Since then, he has amassed 13,336 runs in the test arena, a record for an Australian batsman and second only to the great Sachin Tendulkar.
On top of that, he guided Australia to back-to-back World Cup titles in 2003 and '07 in the limited-overs format after taking over the captaincy from Waugh. He stood down as Australian captain after an Ashes series loss on home soil followed by a quarterfinal exit in the 2011 World Cup in India.
The timing, and the delivery, caught everyone by surprise - none more than Michael Clarke, Ponting's successor as Australia captain, long-time understudy, and also a member of the panel of selectors.
Ponting, who will turn 38 next month and equal Steve Waugh's Australian record with his 168th test cap starting today in Perth, managed to compose himself and present a resolute image to a domestic media contingent that has speculated for more than a year about when the former skipper should or would call an end to his international career.
"A few hours ago I let the boys know of my decision to make this test my last," Ponting started. He continued, "I tried to say a lot but I didn't get much out.
"They'd never seen me emotional before, but I was this morning."
Ponting's wife, Rianna, and their two daughters were in the news conference room, along with all of his Australian teammates, coach Mickey Arthur and chief selector John Inverarity in a unanimous show of support.
Clarke couldn't hold back the tears when it was his turn to speak in front of the cameras after Ponting had made his news public.
"The boys are obviously hurting at the moment. He's been an amazing player for a long time," Clarke said, before drawing a few deep breaths, taking time as he contemplated a question posed about the atmosphere in the room when Ponting broke the news to his teammates. "And that'll do me for today. Sorry, I can't answer that."
He will continue to play for Tasmania in the domestic competition this summer.
Ponting made his test debut at the WACA in Perth against Sri Lanka in 1995, as a young batsman. Since then, he has amassed 13,336 runs in the test arena, a record for an Australian batsman and second only to the great Sachin Tendulkar.
On top of that, he guided Australia to back-to-back World Cup titles in 2003 and '07 in the limited-overs format after taking over the captaincy from Waugh. He stood down as Australian captain after an Ashes series loss on home soil followed by a quarterfinal exit in the 2011 World Cup in India.
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