Ponting’s never give up attitude will be sorely missed

Former Australia opening batsman Mark Taylor believes the national team are going to miss former captain Ricky Ponting’s constant determination and tenacity whenever he stepped on the field.

Ponting announced his retirement from international cricket shortly before the start of the third Test against South Africa in Perth, stating that his poor form with the bat was largely to blame for the tough decision.

Taylor recalled how Ponting made 96 on his debut against Sri Lanka before being given out to a questionable lbw decision, which did not go down well with the former skipper since he truly believed he could have gone on to score a century.

Taylor noted from that moment on, he knew Ponting was destined for greatness.

“As his (Ponting) captain, that is exactly what you want to see,” Taylor wrote in his column for News.com.au. “It proved that Ponting would never settle for second best. And that’s what Australia will miss most when Ricky is gone: the determination.

“Ponting has never just been about the runs, although he has certainly scored plenty of those. It is his insatiable desire, his will to win, his tenacity in the field. Those, as much as his 13,336 Test runs, define Ponting as a cricketer.”

The former opening batsman also stated that people should pay their tributes to Ponting, but start moving on after that.

“When we farewell him this week, we farewell an era of Australian cricket,” Taylor said. “As the last active player to have debuted in the 1990s, Ponting was from an era where rough edges were embraced and scrutiny less intense.

“Australian cricket always moves on. Just as there was life after Bradman and again after Steve Waugh, there will be life after Ricky. The national team is in good hands with Michael Clarke and I am optimistic about the future. But there will be aspects to Ponting’s game that will be tough to replace.”