Ricky Ponting

Personal information
Full name	Ricky Thomas Ponting
Born	19 December 1974 (age 37) Launceston, Tasmania, Australia
Nickname	Punter
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Batting style	Right-hand
Bowling style	Right-arm medium Right-arm off break
Role	Batsman
International information
National side	Australia
Test debut (cap 366)	8 December 1995 v Sri Lanka
Last Test	^ 6 January 2011 v India
ODI debut (cap 123)	15 February 1995 v South Africa
Last ODI	28 October 2011 v South Africa
ODI shirt no.	14
T20I debut (cap 10)	17 February 2005 v New Zealand
Last T20I	8 June 2009 v Sri Lanka
T20I shirt no.	14
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1992 –	Tasmania
2004	Somerset
2008	Kolkata Knight Riders
2011 -	Hobart Hurricanes
Career statistics
Competition	Test	ODIs	FC	List A
Matches	163	370	265	442
Runs scored	13,200	13,686	22,032	16,042
Batting average	53.44	42.63	55.21	42.21
100s/50s	41/61	30/82	74/99	34/97
Top score	257	164	257	164
Balls bowled	575	150	1,470	349
Wickets	5	3	14	8
Bowling average	54.60	34.66	57.07	33.62
5 wickets in innings	0	0	0	0
10 wickets in match	0	n/a	0	n/a
Best bowling	1/0	1/12	2/10	3/34
Catches/stumpings	191/–	157/–	281/–	189/–
Source: Cricinfo, 23 January 2012

Ricky Thomas Ponting AO (born 19 December 1974), nicknamed Punter, is an Australian cricketer, a former captain of the Australian cricket team between 2004 and 2011 in Test cricket and 2002 and 2011 in One Day International cricket. He is a specialist right-handed batsman, slips and close catching fielder, as well as a very occasional bowler. He represents the Tasmanian Tigers in Australian domestic cricket, the Hobart Hurricanes in the Big Bash League, and played in the Indian Premier League with the Kolkata Knight Riders in 2008.
Ponting made his first-class debut for Tasmania in November 1992, when just 17 years and 337 days old, becoming the youngest Tasmanian to play in a Sheffield Shield match. However, he had to wait until 1995 before making his One Day International (ODI) debut, during a quadrangular tournament in New Zealand in a match against South Africa. His Test debut followed shortly after, when selected for the first Test of the 1995 home series against Sri Lanka in Perth, in which he scored 96. He lost his place in the national team several times in the period before early-1999, due to lack of form and discipline, before becoming One Day International captain in early-2002 and Test captain in early-2004.
After being involved in over 160 Tests and 370 ODIs, Ponting is Australia's leading run-scorer in Test and ODI cricket. He is one of only three players in history to have scored 13,000 Test runs. Statistically, he is the most successful captain of all time, with 48 victories in 77 Tests between 2004 and 31 December 2010, while as a player he is also the only cricketer in history to be involved in 100 Test victories.^[1]

Contents  [hide]  1 1974–1995: Early life 1.1 Birth and personal life 1.2 Junior ranks 1.3 Early Australian domestic career 2 1995–1999: Early International career 2.1 Australian debut 2.2 Sponsorship 2.3 1996 World Cup 2.4 1998 tours of the subcontinent and Ashes 3 1999–2002: The road back to the Australian side 3.1 First World Cup success (1999) 3.2 Defeat in India and 2001 Ashes 4 2002–2004: Appointment as One Day International captain 4.1 Appointment as One Day International captain 4.2 2002–03 Ashes victory and first World Cup success as captain 4.3 5000 Test runs 4.4 Most runs by an Australian in a calendar year (2003) 5 2004–2008: Appointment as Test captain 5.1 Australia lose an Ashes series for the first time since 1987 5.2 Twin centuries in 100th Test 5.3 Australia's first Champions Trophy victory 5.4 Ashes regained and 10,000 ODI runs at 2007 World Cup 5.5 Sydney Test controversy 5.6 Third Australian to score 10,000 Test runs 6 2008–2011: Decline in form 6.1 Mixed team performances 6.2 Second Ashes series loss as captain 6.3 Troubles against the short ball 6.4 2010–11 Ashes defeat 6.5 2011 World Cup and resignation as captain 7 2011–2012: Post-captaincy 8 Style 8.1 Approach to cricket 8.2 Batting 8.3 Bowling and fielding 8.4 Captaincy 9 Books 10 Notes 11 References 12 External links

[edit] 1974–1995: Early life

Main article: Early life of Ricky Ponting

[edit] Birth and personal life

Born in Launceston, Tasmania on 19 December 1974, Ricky Ponting is the eldest of Graeme and Lorraine Ponting's four children. Graeme was "a good club cricketer" and played Australian rules football, while Lorraine was a state vigoro champion.^[2] His uncle Greg Campbell played test cricket for Australia in 1989 and 1990. Ponting's parents first lived in Prospect 4.1 km (2.5 mi) south of city centre; however, they moved into the working-class area of Newnham, 6 km (3.7 mi) north of central Launceston.^[3]
After marrying long-time girlfriend—law student Rianna Jennifer Cantor—in June 2002, Ponting credited her as the reason for his increased maturity. Their daughter Emmy Charlotte was born in Sydney on 26 July 2008.^[4] Second daughter Matisse Ellie was born in Sydney on 8 September 2011.^[5]

Junior ranks

Introduced to cricket by father Graeme and uncle Greg Campbell,^[6] Ponting played for the Mowbray Under–13s team at the age of 11 in 1985–86. In January 1986, he took part in the five day annual Northern Tasmania junior cricket competition.^[7] After scoring four centuries in a week, bat manufacturer Kookaburra gave Ponting a sponsorship contract while in just eighth grade mainly on the back of these four centuries. Ponting took this form into the Under-16s week-long competition less than a month later, scoring an even century on the final day.^[8] Ted Richardson, the former head of the Northern Tasmanian Schools Cricket Association said: "Ricky is certainly the equal of David Boon at this level.^[8]
Australian Rules football was also a big part of Ponting's sporting life, and is a keen follower of the North Melbourne Kangaroos. During the winter he played junior football for North Launceston and up until he was 14, it could have become a possible sporting option. This was before he broke the humerus in his right arm playing for North Launceston Under–17s as a 13 year-old. Ponting's arm was so badly damaged, it had to be pinned.^[9] Told to endure a 14-week lay-off, he never played competitive football again.^[10]
During Tasmanian Sheffield Shield matches at the NTCA Ground (Northern Tasmanian Cricket Association Ground), Ponting helped out with the scoreboard, thereby surrounding himself with international cricketers.^[11][12] After leaving school at the end of year 10 in 1990, he began work as a groundsman at Scotch Oakburn College, a private school in Launceston. In 1991 the Northern Tasmanian Cricket Association sponsored Ponting to attend a fortnight's training at the Australian Institute of Sport's Cricket Academy in Adelaide.^[13][14] The two weeks turned into a full two-year sponsorship as he was said to be the best 17-year-old batsman Academy coach Rod Marsh had ever seen.^[15]
Playing five games for Tasmania for the 1992 Under–19 carnival in Perth, Ponting scored 350 runs, earning him selection in the 13-man national Under–19 development squad for the upcoming tour of South Africa—the first Australian cricket team to make an official tour to the country since Bill Lawry's team in 1970.^[16][17]

Early Australian domestic career

After scoring 114 not out in club match against Riverside, Ponting became the youngest player to appear for Tasmania in a Sheffield Shield match, breaking Boon's record by 14 days.^[18] In November 1992, with Ponting just 17 years and 337 days, he strode out to the crease at number four against South Australia at the Adelaide Oval.^[19] Despite scoring 56 in a 127-run partnership with Boon, he could not prevent a defeat, scoring just four in Tasmania's second innings.^[20] In his first match in Tasmania, this time against New South Wales, Ponting contributed 32 and 18 in a draw. He followed this up with 25 against Western Australia in a narrow loss. His first match in Sydney also marked the debut of future Australian opening bowler Glenn McGrath. His subsequent century also meant that Ponting became the youngest Tasmanian to score a first-class century at 18 years and 40 days, eclipsing Boon's record of 19 years and 356 days.^[20] After scoring another half century, Ponting scored back to back centuries against Western Australia on Australia's fastest wicket in Perth.^[21] He become the youngest batsmen in Shield history to score twin centuries in a match. After setting a goal of scoring 500 runs in the season, he ended up scoring 781 at 48.81. After season's end, Ponting played seven four-day games for the Australian Academy, scoring 484 runs at 96.70, even though he was still only 18.^[22]
Speculation ignited that Ponting was an outsider to join the Australian squad on their 1993 tour to England. Despite Ponting's reluctance to weigh into the debate, Tasmanian coach Greg Shipperd thought he could handle the experience.^[23] The selectors ended up choosing Western Australian batsman Damien Martyn for the tour, with Ponting selected in the Academy squad captained by Justin Langer, which toured India and Sri Lanka for seven games in August–September 1993. Australian success was limited, with only several wins. No batsman scored a century, despite Ponting reaching 99 not out in a one-day game in Colombo. He finished the tour second highest in the aggregates, behind Langer.^[24] Before the start of the 1993–94 Sheffield Shield season, Ponting stated that he wanted to score 1000 runs for the season.^[24] In Tasmania's final match of the season, they needed to defeat South Australia outright to qualify for the final. Set 366 in 102 overs, Ponting scored 161 in a 290-run partnership that ended with Tasmania needing just 41 runs for victory. Despite Tasmania losing four quick wickets, they won with four wickets in hand.^[25][26] Disappointingly for Ponting, he could not repeat the performance in the final against New South Wales, scoring just one and 28, as Tasmania were defeated by an innings and 61 runs.^[27] The season saw Ponting score 965 runs at 48.25, close to his 1000 run goal.^[25][28]
A month after the final, he was again selected for the Academy squad for three limited overs matches against a touring Indian team. Queenslander Stuart Law captained the Australian side that included former Australian keeper Rod Marsh. In Australia's victory in Canberra he top scored with 71 and before scoring 52 in victory in Sydney. The last match was also successful for the home team, with Ponting not required to bat.^[29]