One of the greatest batsmen of our generation Ricky Ponting announces his retirement from Cricket. Ponting who had earlier decided to retire from ODI and T20 formats decided to hang up his boots permanently after the Perth Test.
Ricky Ponting announces retirement
The former Australian Captain believes that he is not contributing enough to the team now. When he appears in the baggy green for one last time he will equal the record of Steve Waugh with 168 caps for the Aussies. Ponting has ammased 13,336 runs in his career second only to Sachin Tendulkar.
Video: Ricky Ponting to retire from test cricket
At the age of 37 Ponting will have a memorable career to rewind to after he led Australia to two World Cup wins in 2003 and 2007 and was also part of the squad that were crowned champions in 1999. It was an unusual sight for viewers as a normally calm and composed Ponting was emotional at the press conference. The Australian squad was also in tears when they came to terms with the truth.
17 years ago his career began at the WACA and now it will end at the same stadium. Ponting assessed himself. He believed that he is no longer performing to the level he expects him to after failing thrice in the series already.
“It’s a decision I thought long and hard about, put in long consideration about the decision, at the end of the day it was about my results and my output in this series so far,” Ponting said. “It hasn’t been to the level required for batsmen and players in the Australian team. My level of performance hasn’t been good enough.
“I want to be a consistent performer, and if you look back over the last 12 or 18 months I haven’t been able to perform consistently. I’ve had moments of really good stuff, and prolonged moments of cricket that’s been below my expectations and below a par level for me, so there hasn’t been one dismissal or one moment, it’s just been in my own eyes reasonably consistent failure. That’s why I believe the time is right now to be making this decision.”
“I believe so, there’s been all sorts of things in the papers the last couple of days and I know certainly with my captain and my coach I couldn’t have had any more support from those guys,” Ponting said. “They’ve been the ones who’ve been most verbal about their support.
“This is not a decision that’s been made by the selectors, this a decision that’s been made by me, and I’d like to thank all those guys for the support they’ve given me over the last 12 months. There were probably moments when they thought long and hard about ending my career and I’m glad I’ve got the opportunity to finish this way and on my terms.”
He was troubled by the manner of his dismissals after being bowled twice in Adelaide, something that has happened only once before since his career began in 1995.
Ponting’s successor as captain Michael Clarke was in tears while speaking to the media. He said it was something that he did not expect now.
Ponting will continue to play domestic cricket and said that he intends to spend more time with his family.
Ponting who has been widely regarded as one of the best batsman and captain of all time will bow out on a high after he decided to call quit himself rather than being asked to.
Australia will surely miss the leadership of such a man even if he is not the captain. The best they can do for the man will be to win the test and have him go out on a high with a match and a day to remember. Perth test will be all about Ponting. His name will be written all over it and so will be his name all over cricket for years to come.
Tags: Australia, Cricket, Perth, Ricky Ponting, Test Cricket, WACA
