Ponting is currently the second-highest Test scorer in history
West Indies legend Sir Vivian Richards has branded former Australia captain Ricky Ponting as one of the most fearless cricketers to ever play the game and wished him all the best after the ex-skipper announced his retirement from international cricket.
Richards noted that Ponting’s never give up attitude and refusal to ever back down was responsible for his illustrious career spanning an outstanding 17 years.
“Certainly he’s up there with the very best,” Richards said. “What I love about him more than anything else, you look at the way he walks out to the crease. He always has presence. There is a tenaciousness about him. He walks out and believes. He’s not going to be intimidated by no one. I would like guys like that. I appreciate seeing guys who come out and have a particular presence.”
Despite retiring four years before Ponting made his debut in 1995, Richards pointed out that the former Australia captain had grown and developed his game so much since his very first Test match against Sri Lanka.
“A young batter who wants to make it, you cannot feel like you have one foot in and one foot out,” Richards said. “You’ve got to make that crease your house. Ricky always made the crease his house. I’ve always been in his corner as a player because of that brashness, he’s an in-your-face sort of guy. Show no fear. Batsmen sometimes can be intimidated by a guy from how far he runs up, but you just put that at the back of your mind and bat with what you have. Ricky, to me, certainly did that.”
Former Australia leg-spinner and long time team-mate Shane Warne stated that Ponting’s ability to keep the scoreboard ticking when the national team were under pressure was one of the key reasons why he scored plenty of runs and transformed into one of the greatest batsmen the cricketing world has ever seen.
“It was fun to play with Ricky Ponting,” Warne said. “I met him as a 16-year-old at the cricket academy in Adelaide. He was a guy who was pretty tough and an uncompromising sort of player. He will definitely go down with Greg Chappell and Allan Border and Bradman as the greatest batsmen Australia have had, and he’ll hold up well on the international stage.
“He loved a scrap, he loved a fight, he was always good when the team really needed him he put his hand up. That’s a really good characteristic in any player. It’s not about how many runs you get, it’s about when you get your runs and when you take your wickets. I think Ricky always got the majority of his runs when Australia really needed him. That was a standout characteristic of his. He was good fun to play with and tough as nails.”