Richardson believes Ponting was one of the true pioneers of the modern game

International Cricket Council (ICC) president David Richardson has paid tribute to recently retired Australian batsman Ricky Ponting, stating that he was “one of the true legends of the sport”.

Ponting has been one of Australia’s most successful captains, leading the country to two World Cup triumphs, and called time on his international career after playing 168 Test matches and 375 ODIs.

“His contribution to the international game has been immense and quite rightly he will be remembered as one of the true legends of the sport,” ICC Chief Executive David Richardson said in a statement. “Ricky was a team man but along the way collected many personal accolades and is the only player to have won the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for Cricketer of the Year at the LG ICC Awards for two years in succession (2006 and 2007).

“We wish him well in the next stage of his career and look forward to his ongoing involvement in the game beyond the boundary.”

Ponting ended his last Test innings on a sad note, scoring only eight runs before getting caught by Jacques Kallis off the bowling of Robin Peterson.