By Adrian Meredith
MELBOURNE, Australia (TheSportsNEXT) December 6, 2012: Growing up in Tasmania, we all knew about David Boon, the first Tasmanian to have a lengthy international cricket career.
Nobody would ever beat Boon, they said. Jamie Cox was touted in his youth as one day surpassing Boon, but, as we know, Cox didn't end up playing a single international match (though he was somewhat unlucky, as he timed his rich vein of form at just the wrong time). When Ricky Ponting came along, while some were hopeful, the expectation wasn't quite there, in light of the disappointment at Cox not playing internationally.
Ricky Ponting, like Jamie Cox, was first discovered as a teenager. But while Cox played first grade cricket at the age of 14 and was in the state side at 16, Ponting instead was learning the basics at the Australian Cricket Academy. Before he had even played first grade cricket, his coaches were saying that he would one day be the Australian test cricket captain, something that made front page news in Tasmania.
Ponting didn't play first class cricket until he was 18 years of age, which, considering his talent, was somewhat late. He was easily good enough at 15, but the Australian coaching fraternity deliberately held him back. He didn't even play first grade cricket until a few months before then.
Unlike Cox, who took some 6 or 7 years to produce at first class level, Ponting produced immediately, averaging around 40 in his very first first class season, and from there he kept improving.
In spite of this, the national selectors refused to put him in the team. In spite of being easily good enough at 18, Ponting had to wait for 2 full years of first class cricket, until he was 20, before he finally got his international debut, and only in the ODI arena.
Ponting's debut match was in New Zealand, against South Africa, where he batted at 6, instead of his customary number 3. He scored 1 off 6 balls and was clean bowled by the little known bowler Eric Simons, someone who never played a test and managed just 23 one day internationals, all within a year of each other. Yet Australia won the match, by just 3 wickets, but with almost 7 overs to spare, in a match that saw South Africa bowled out for just 123. Ponting had started poorly but he wasn't really needed.
Ponting may have failed but he was given another chance. In his second match, he scored 10 not out off 8 balls to help to set Australia up to 254, a winning score against India. And in his third match, this time batting at number 3, he sensibly made 62 off 92, showing that that is where he would prefer to bat; but sadly the team lost - their first lost that he was involved in.
After just 6 ODIs, with that 62 his top score, Ponting was given a test debut.
On his test debut, against Sri Lanka in Perth, Ponting scored an impressive 96 in his only innings, batting at number 5, ahead of Stuart Law, who managed 54 not out in what was to be his only test innings. Australia piled on a massive 5 for 617, winning by an innings plus, and Ponting's score was far from the highest score - Mark Waugh managed a century and Michael Slater a double century, while captain Mark Taylor equalled Ponting's score. Sri Lanka's Hashan Tillekeratne managed a century as well.
Ponting took a long time to establish himself. In spite of averaging in the 40s in ODIs, at a strike rate in the high 80s, unheard of in those days, Ponting still wasn't given regular opportunities. He averaged low 50s in the test arena yet still couldn't secure a place. He played often enough; but he took a long time to secure the number 3 spot, instead having to bat anywhere from number 4 to number 6. He took even longer to secure the number 3 spot in tests.
Right when Ponting seemed to be finally getting a secure spot, tragedy struck. It was 1999, 4 years after he made his debut, when Ponting was just 24 years of age. He was beaten badly outside a Sydney nightclub.
It was a time when the cricketing world was still rocking from former spin bowling all-rounder Greg Matthews being beaten outside a nightclub. And now Ponting was too. Ponting was expected to be out for 2-3 weeks due to his injuries. He was expected to help police with their inquiries. There was a growing concern that sports people were being targeted by members of the public.
But, a couple of days after the incident, Ricky Ponting shocked the cricketing world by saying that he could not remember his attackers.
Greg Matthews was outraged, as were many members of the cricketing world and the general public. The consensus was that he was lying. He knew who had attacked him but refused to name them.
Ponting went further by saying that he had a drinking problem, put himself into rehab and asked to be given a harsh penalty.
The Australian Cricket Board, as they were then known, weren't sure if he was lying, or if he really had a drinking problem. If he was lying, he was protecting criminals, and doing the wrong thing by Greg Matthews. If he had a drinking problem, he needed to take time off to recover. Either way, the result was that he was out of the team for the best part of 6 months, at a time when he was just starting to establish himself.
After he returned, it wasn't easy for him either. Ponting didn't go straight back into the number 3 spot - he had to start over, as it were, batting at number 6. He didn't get his test spot back either. He had to earn it. He had to earn it about 5 times as much as he had earned it before. Previously he was given multiple chances because he had talent. This time around he had to prove not just that he was the 6th best batsman in the country, but that he was the absolute number 1, and by a big margin. Only then would they consider him.
Ponting saw the challenge laid before him, and it seemed to define him. We may never know if he was lying or really had a drinking problem - and if he was lying, why he was lying. But the end result is that he did a lot better afterwards. He quickly became the best batsman in Australia, and lived up to his reputation.
Ponting was overlooked for the test captain's job after Mark Taylor retired, a job that he probably would have got if not for the brawl. Instead, Steve Waugh was given a shot, even though he was already late into his career. But Ponting learned from this too, and took it as inspiration to avoid any hint of controversy. He had to be the best batsman in the country and he had to be devoid of any hint of controversy.
When Steve Waugh was punished from Australia missing the finals in their own ODI tri series for the first time in over a decade, Ricky Ponting took over as ODI captain - but he was far from being guaranteed as the next test captain.
But, with fingers crossed, and with Shane Warne and Adam Gilchrist also strong contenders, Ponting got the test captaincy!
The relief showed as Ponting came into the form of his life, averaging over 60 with the bat, being easily the best batsman in the world, and showing that he would not repeat Mark Taylor's effort of having his batting go downhill once he took over as captain.
Eventually, though, Ponting's excitement at having achieved everything waned and his batting started to slip a bit. It started when many of his fellow greats retired, the likes of Shane Warne, Adam Gilchrist and Glenn McGrath. But Ponting took Matthew Hayden's retirement, amongst angry calls for him to be sacked due to his poor form, especially hard. Ponting pointed out that Hayden had only been out of form for a year, and in that time still had a test batting average of almost 40 - and just a year earlier was the best opening batsman in the world!
Whether it was the extra pressure on his batting caused by so many stars disappearing, or his fear that the public would turn on him quickly like they did on Matthew Hayden, Ponting went into his shell somewhat after that. Like Hayden had, Ponting's average went downwards. There were public calls for him to be sacked - though perhaps not quite as many as there were for Hayden to retire, as there was nobody really to replace Ponting. The calls grew louder and louder yet they weren't prepared to replace him.
This year, Ponting had a rebirth of sorts. He played T20 again after a long absence and did magnificently well, also doing well in domestic ODIs in spite of being cut from the national team, and in first class matches he was comfortably the player of the year.
He entered the first test against South Africa in the form of his life. His feet were moving. He was doing everything right.
But scores of 0, 14 and 6 in 3 innings did little to inspire confidence.
While it was better than the alternative (Rob Quiney managed 9, 0 and 0), it simply wasn't good enough and he has announced his retirement, rightly, before the Perth test, so that he can try to perform as well as he can, knowing that no matter how well he does he won't play again.
Perhaps Ponting should have retired 3 or 4 years ago. Perhaps he should have retired while his test batting average was still a scarcely believable 58, instead of waiting for it to fall down to 52.
But he fought it out, he tried to do the right thing. And, ultimately, he has retired, rather than being sacked.
And, it should be noted, he wasn't going to be sacked, because, quite simply, there is nobody to replace him.
While David Hussey has a better FC batting average and is in better form, the selectors are reluctant to give him a shot because of his age. George Bailey might get a shot but he still has the earmark of being a limited overs specialist. And for everyone else we have a choice of players with great long term form versus players who are currently doing well.
Ricky Ponting will go down as Australia's greatest ever captain - statistically at least - who stood over Australia during their greatest ever period, when he was their greatest player, and also, indisputably, the best batsman ever to play for Australia - after Don Bradman.
He finishes equal with Steve Waugh for most number of test appearances for Australia and second behind only the great Sachin Tendulkar for most test runs in the entire world.
His legacy is that for over a decade he was competing with Brian Lara and Sachin Tendulkar as the greatest batsman in the world, and for at least a couple of years, he was easily the best.
A player with great potential, he is someone who showed that potential.
He is easily Tasmania's greatest ever player, far surpassing David Boon. And he will be remembered for a very long time.
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