By Bipin Dani
MUMBAI, India (TheSportsNEXT) December 5, 2012: The emotional farewell to Ricky Ponting in his last Test innings at Perth was not pre-planned, according to Cricket South Africa (CSA).
Former Australian captain and the second highest run-scorer in Test history, Ponting was given a guard of honour by the South Africa team as he walked to the crease.
"Graeme Smith felt that it should be done as a token of respect for Ponting. It wasn’t pre-planned, it was a spur of the moment gesture", Lerato Malekutu, the Media Officer, South Africa team said. "The players were humbled to share the final stage with the Australian legend".
Interestingly, South African all-rounder, Jacques Kallis, did not celebrate Ponting's catch in the slip. Instead, he rushed to shake Ponting's hand, with hat removed.
"The action of Kallis did not surprise me", Keith Richardson, his one-time Head Master at Wynberg Boys' High School said exclusviely from Cape Town. "Kallis and Ponting are friends and rivals and both have immense respect for one another’s ability. They came onto the national stage of their respective countries at roughly the same time and have similar batting records. Their careers have been intertwined and it is fitting that it ended in this way", he added.
Ponting's farewell has been compared with Don Bradman's by former Australian opener, Arthur Morris. In fact, Morris, who watched Ponting's farewell on television at his Sydney home, was at the non-striker's end when Don Bradman was bowled for a duck by Eric Hollies in the fifth Ashes Test at the Oval in 1948. Bradman needed only four runs to finish with a career magical Test average of 100.
"Both farewells were marvellous. I scored 196 runs in that Test, but people still remember Bradman, who played only innings in the Test. God knows how many he would have scored in the second innings...", Morris concluded.
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