Full Name: Ricky Thomas Ponting, Born: December 19, 1974 in Tasmania, Australia, Batting Style : Right-handed batsman, Bowling Style : Right-arm medium, Test Debut : Sri Lanka vs. Australia at Perth – December 8-11, 1995, ODI Debut : South Africa vs. Australia at Wellington – February 15, 1995
The captain of Australian World Cup 2007 squad, Ricky Ponting is cricketing brilliance personified. A cricketer who was preferred over the likes of Shane Warne and Adam Gilchrist to lead Australia after the retirement of Steve Waugh, Ponting has showed exemplary maturity in justifying his selection.
A marvelous batsman who has all shots from the book in his repertory, Ricky Ponting has proven to be one of the most successful captains of modern time. In the 2003 World Cup final against India, Ponting played a masterly 140 not out to take his team to the victory. Time and again, he has led Australia by example, coming up with brilliant performances at the hour of need.
As a captain, Ricky Ponting has been vociferous and always protective of his team. Keeping in legacy with Australian style of cricket, he has also mastered the art of sledging. The lowest point in his stint as a captain came when Australia suffered defeat at the hands of England in the Ashes 2005 series. However, Ricky Ponting did avenge this loss in the 2006 edition of the same series, by devastating England 5-0 at home.
In his 269 ODIs, Ricky Ponting has scored more than 9,800 runs at an average of 42.48. Despite being a middle order batsman, Ponting has a commendable strike-rate of about 80. He is all set to join the elite club of batsman with more than 10,000 one-day runs.
Ricky Ponting’s team comes into the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 in West Indies on a low note. They suffered losses at the hands of both England and New Zealand in recent tournaments. And, for the first time in many years, they have been dethroned from the latest ICC Team Rankings. Their familiar spot at the summit of world cricket has been acceded to South Africa. The onus of motivating Australia and bringing them back to winning ways is now on Ricky Ponting. His form will be extremely decisive for Australia’s fortunes.
