Ricky Ponting
Australia
Full name Ricky Thomas Ponting
Born December 19, 1974, Launceston, Tasmania
Current age 36 years
Major teams Australia, ICC World XI, Kolkata Knight Riders, Somerset, Tasmania
Nickname Punter
Playing role Top-order batsman
Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Right-arm medium
Height 1.78 m
Education Mowbray Primary; Brooks Senior High School, Launceston
Relation Uncle - GD Campbell
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| Ricky Thomas Ponting |
| | Mat | Inns | NO | Runs | HS | Ave | SR | 100 | 50 | 4s | 6s | Ct | St |
| Tests | 152 | 259 | 28 | 12363 | 257 | 53.51 | 59.36 | 39 | 56 | 1406 | 72 | 178 | 0 |
| ODIs | 362 | 352 | 38 | 13406 | 164 | 42.69 | 80.59 | 30 | 79 | 1195 | 161 | 155 | 0 |
| T20Is | 17 | 16 | 2 | 401 | 98* | 28.64 | 132.78 | 0 | 2 | 41 | 11 | 8 | 0 |
| First-class | 255 | 436 | 55 | 21332 | 257 | 55.98 | | 73 | 94 | | | 270 | 0 |
| List A | 434 | 424 | 51 | 15762 | 164 | 42.25 | | 34 | 94 | | | 187 | 0 |
| Twenty20 | 22 | 21 | 2 | 460 | 98* | 24.21 | 122.66 | 0 | 2 | 44 | 13 | 10 | 0 |
| | Mat | Inns | Balls | Runs | Wkts | BBI | BBM | Ave | Econ | SR | 4w | 5w | 10 |
| Tests | 152 | 30 | 539 | 242 | 5 | 1/0 | 1/0 | 48.40 | 2.69 | 107.8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ODIs | 362 | 5 | 150 | 104 | 3 | 1/12 | 1/12 | 34.66 | 4.16 | 50.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| T20Is | 17 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| First-class | 255 | | 1434 | 768 | 14 | 2/10 | | 54.85 | 3.21 | 102.4 | | 0 | 0 |
| List A | 434 | | 349 | 269 | 8 | 3/34 | 3/34 | 33.62 | 4.62 | 43.6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Twenty20 | 22 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Test debut | Australia v Sri Lanka at Perth, Dec 8-11, 1995 |
| Last Test | Australia v England at Melbourne, Dec 26-29, 2010 |
| ODI debut | Australia v South Africa at Wellington, Feb 15, 1995 |
| Last ODI | Bangladesh v Australia at Dhaka, Apr 13, 2011 |
| T20I debut | New Zealand v Australia at Auckland, Feb 17, 2005 |
| Last T20I | Australia v Sri Lanka at Nottingham, Jun 8, 2009 |
| First-class debut | 1992/93 |
| Last First-class | Australia v England at Melbourne, Dec 26-29, 2010 |
| List A debut | 1992/93 |
| Last List A | Bangladesh v Australia at Dhaka, Apr 13, 2011 |
| Twenty20 debut | Somerset v Northamptonshire at Taunton, Jul 15, 2004 |
| Last Twenty20 | Australia v Sri Lanka at Nottingham, Jun 8, 2009 |
| Bat & Bowl | Team | Opposition | Ground | Match Date |
| 47 | Australia | v Bangladesh | Dhaka | 13 Apr 2011 |
| 37* | Australia | v Bangladesh | Dhaka | 11 Apr 2011 |
| 34 | Australia | v Bangladesh | Dhaka | 9 Apr 2011 |
| 69 | Australians | v BCB XI | Fatullah | 7 Apr 2011 |
| 104 | Australia | v India | Ahmedabad | 24 Mar 2011 |
| 19 | Australia | v Pakistan | Colombo (RPS) | 19 Mar 2011 |
| 7 | Australia | v Canada | Bangalore | 16 Mar 2011 |
| 36 | Australia | v Kenya | Bangalore | 13 Mar 2011 |
| - | Australia | v Sri Lanka | Colombo (RPS) | 5 Mar 2011 |
| 12 | Australia | v New Zealand | Nagpur | 25 Feb 2011 |
Ricky Ponting, the most uncompromising player of his generation, grew into Australia's most successful run-maker and only sits below Bradman in the country's overall ratings. It takes an extremely critical eye to diminish his run-scoring achievements, which seem to collect new records in every series. Like spotting a celebrity, it's necessary to look twice when analysing Ponting, first as the archetypal modern batsman, then as the country's 42nd Test captain. There is no doubt about his greatness after taking guard, but his leadership has been under scrutiny for much of his reign. While his blade has sparkled, his stewardship is pock-marked by three Ashes defeats - two in England and one at home - and stumbles to South Africa and India.
Those results didn't stop him from becoming the most successful captain in Test history after passing Steve Waugh's 41 wins in the 2009-10 Boxing Day Test. In the same match he overtook Shane Warne's 92 victories as the most by an individual, and he led Australia to 34 consecutive undefeated World Cup games. He stepped down from the captaincy when that run ended, in the 2011 World Cup. For the first three years of his reign he was in charge of a superstar unit and did not have to decide much tactically, but once that group headed for retirement he had to change from a manager to moulder.
As a batsman the only debate is where to rank him in the high reaches of the game's greatest run-makers. Acclaimed by Academy coach Rod Marsh as the best teenage batsman he had ever seen, Ponting began with Tasmania at 17 and Australia at 20, and was given out unluckily for 96 on his Test debut. There were some teething problems, including a public admission of an alcohol problem, but the longer he went on the more he matured, building up records and runs.
He plays all the shots with a full flourish of the bat - the cover drive and the pull are particularly productive methods - and knows only to attack. His breathtaking, dead-eye fielding is a force in the game by itself. Only Sachin Tendulkar has more centuries in Tests and ODIs than Ponting, who is a natural in the game's traditional forms, but resistant to the perks of Twenty20, which he retired from in 2009. There have been setbacks against probing seam attacks, high-class finger-spin and, latterly, short balls, which he insists are meant to be pulled or hooked. These will be minor matters whenever he retires.
