Punter, We Bid You Adieu
It was a sad, sad day in Cricket history, when the former captain of the Australian cricket team – Ricky Ponting decided to retire, drawing the curtains on nearly two decades of a glorious cricket career. A true testament to how much Ponting or ‘Punter, as he is fondly referred to, will be missed was Michael Clarke’s reaction to the revelation. A normally cheerful Clarke, who is the present Australian Captain, was teary eyed and choked up when he was addressing Ponting’s decision to retire at the press conference. After Ponting had said his bit at the gathering, he was received with a standing ovation of bitter sweet sentiments from all the people present there including his colleagues, mates and family.
Michael Clarke has spent much of his career under Ponting’s captaincy was very much aware of the profound loss of a truly valuable member and the huge responsibility of filling his shoes. It wasn’t easy for the Australian champ to come to this conclusion. He expressed that he had though long and hard about what to do and what to say, when the matters came to this particular point. He was candid about his recent inconsistency at the pitch and added that he had factored that in while making the decision. He also said that cricket had pretty much encompassed his whole life and he was just grateful that he was able to end it on his own terms. Ever since his foray into the cricketing world as a nineteen year old in 1992, he has been a true epitome of excellence and a perfect sportsmanship.
Rickey Ponting profile is replete with a plethora of plaudits and achievements that is beyond impressive. He has recorded around three hundred and seventy One Day International matches and one hundred and sixty test matches in his illustrious career. Ponting has the highest number of runs in Test and ODI series, in Australia. Taking in to consideration his outstanding accomplishment of fourty eight wins out of seventy seven tests, during his captaincy, makes him the most successful captain of all time.
Ricky Ponting was revered and respected by the whole of the cricket industry. He has always been a tall tower of strength to the Australian cricket team and packed a wallop where his character was concerned. May be that is why, when he announced his retirement, heart rendering tributes poured in from people of every stature, genre , gender and title from all corners of the world. His life and career graph will be a true benchmark to any and all aspiring cricketers.
