Punter Becomes the Hunter | Thebigtip

For all the recent criticism, Ricky Ponting and his Australian team have to be respected for their capacity to succeed in the face of such significant adversity. Ricky Ponting, though he isn’t scoring runs at the moment, is great to watch at the helm of his team. His captaincy has been pilloried; however, his passion for this team is abundantly evident. When Australia defeated South Africa in South Africa 18 months ago, it was clear that Ponting was starting to mould this team as his own. When Siddle gave Prior a slight send off in the first innings at Perth and Prior responded, I loved seeing Ponting returning the favour – with chewing gum on the verge of jumping out his mouth. He resembled an older brother, standing up to the schoolyard bully, sticking up for his junior siblings.

Ponting took charge of a team of champions, who gradually departed, leaving Punter to change his role drastically. Border was also part of a great team that bottomed out, however, he only assumed control when the team was on the canvas. Ponting has had to redefine himself as a captain with the changing nature of his team.

As a leader, Ponting has presided over the most difficult period that Australian cricket has experienced in over 20 years. He was always going to feel the pressure of expectation from a public which had become accustomed to success. As the youngest player in a great era, his tenure as captain was always going to include the retirement of a number of greats. One of his peers, Brian Lara, endured a similar experience, albeit with much less success than Ponting. Ponting was always going to be measured, fairly or otherwise, against the great captains which Australia has had since Border. He has lost two Ashes series, true. Yet England was never going to be terrible forever and Australia was not always going to be unbeatable. It should be pointed out, however, that for a few runs here or there and perhaps a wicket or two, Australia could easily have won both those series.

Throughout the past few years, Ponting has not been helped by some key figures around the team. Team selections in recent times have been haphazard, which has certainly had a destabilising effect on the side. Key players have either succumbed frequently to injury or have not been consistent enough at Test level. It is no wonder that Ponting is struggling with the bat given that so many of those around him are not entirely reliable. It would be easy to dwell on Ponting’s average in this series, however, in four of his last five completed innings, he has been caught down the leg side twice, copped a beauty first up and lost his wicket to a screamer of a catch. He is Australia’s best since Bradman and he will come good with an ounce of luck.

Ponting will play in the next Test. There is no doubt about that. He is a huge chance to make runs too. The mood of the series has shifted. England once smelled blood yet the prize fighter is back on his feet and has landed a few big blows. When Ponting strides out to bat at the MCG, he will have assumed the role of the hunter. He knows he is one of the greats of Australian cricket. Some people, unfortunately, have forgotten this in recent times. Just to recap – here is a list of Ponting’s first innings scores, in perhaps his best period as a batsman, from 2002 to 2003:

89, 141, 44, 150, 123, 154, 68, 21, 7, 117, 206, 113, 10, 59, 37, 169, 54, 242, 257.

That is: 19 innings, 10 hundreds, including 3 double hundreds, 4 fifties. 2061 runs at 108. Through this period, he eclipsed 150 every 2.7 innings. This is in the first innings, when the game is on the line. Interestingly, he averages 59 in first innings across his career and 43 in second innings knocks. The point being, Ponting is a serious player, and players of his quality don’t forget how to score runs and don’t lose the appetite for scoring runs. In recent times, champions such as Boon, Taylor and Waugh have all responded with rousing hundreds when their spot in the team fell under scrutiny. In front of 90,000 people on Boxing Day, Ponting may just remind a few people of his capacities as a cricketer.