Image courtesy of: The Guardian
Ponting once again confirmed he was retired and will not answer Australia’s cries for help during the Ashes
Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting gave hope to millions of Australian fans for a few hours after saying that he would answer Australia’s Ashes cries by coming out of retirement and playing for them in this year’s back-to-back Ashes series.
Australia have been struggling to find any form in Test cricket since Ponting and veteran batsman Michael Hussey announced their retirements.
“You wouldn’t say no, would you, if that call came and I would never say never,” Ponting told the Daily Mail when asked whether he would consider making a comeback. “But you have to say a call-up like that now is extremely unlikely.”
However, after a good night’s sleep, Ponting once again confirmed that he was retired and that all the fanfare about him making his international return could stop.
“I did an interview with the Mail yesterday and probably didn’t answer this question exactly the way I would have liked,” he told Sky Sports. “I’m a happily retired international cricketer. There’ll be a squad of 17, 18 players and there’ll be reserve batsmen on standby, ready to go if anyone in the starting XI loses a bit of form.
“I won’t be playing Ashes cricket this time, there’s no doubt about that. I’m pleased everyone out there thinks that there’s still an opportunity, that I might be good enough to play, but I’m happily retired and it’s time for the young guys now to make the most of their opportunities.”
Current Australia Test captain Michael Clarke was also surprised by Ponting’s comments to the Mail, but in the end, reiterated what Ponting had said about himself being finished with international cricket for good.
“You should never say never in life, that’s for sure, but I think Ricky also made it very clear that his time had finished at international level,” Clarke said. “He’s retired from the Australian cricket team. I hear he’s very focused and excited about being a part of the Surrey team. Right now we have a 15-man Champions Trophy squad, and then we’ll have a 16-man Ashes squad. Ricky is not selected in either of those squads at this stage.”
Last year, Ponting noted that he was working towards this year’s Ashes series, but after being completely embarrassed in front of his home crowd during the three-Test series against South Africa, where he could only manage a dismal 32 runs from five innings, he knew it was time to call it quits or face further humiliation and be dropped by the national selectors.
“I felt Australia would have been a stronger side in this Ashes with both me and Mike Hussey in the side,” Ponting said. “The Ashes are the pinnacle and England is the greatest tour to be on. But the bottom line is I just wasn’t good enough any more to be a part of this team. I knew that.
“Hussey is missing because of different circumstances and I’m surprised he’s not here but I know how hard it can be to keep on touring with a young family. As for me, my time had just come. I knew it so I had to bow out against South Africa. It’s down to the young lads now.”
However, not all the players in Australia’s current squad are youthful, as Chris Rogers and vice-captain Brad Haddin, both of whom are 35, were the best players Cricket Australia could find to plug the holes left behind by Ponting and Hussey.
While Rogers’ experience with English conditions will come in handy, Ponting stated that younger batsmen like David Warner, Ed Cowan and Phillip Hughes had to step up and show the world that Australia were capable of winning the Ashes without having to bank on senior players to rescue them from dire situations.
“I think it’s going to be a lot tighter than a lot of people have been saying,” he said. “There has been a lot of doom and gloom and negativity about our side but not too long ago we were all being pretty positive about where we stood. Our batting is the key. If it can stand up to the English bowling then we will be competitive. We have a good, solid number of bowlers and our young quicks are really exciting as a fast-bowling group.
“England are a very good side, and they played exceptionally well against us in Australia last time. I must admit Alastair Cook surprised me in that series but I see he’s just got his 25th Test century and he’s proving a worthy successor as captain to Andrew Strauss. Joe Root looks a good young player, Jonny Bairstow has something about him and when Kevin Pietersen is fit England will be getting a world-class player again. They are a quality side – but quality sides have been beaten in the past.”
Another vital aspect for Australia will be the amount of preparation and homework they do before the Ashes series in July.
The word homework will not sit too well with four players in the side – Shane Watson, Mitchell Johnson, James Pattinson and Usman Khawaja – as they were controversially axed for the third Test during the recent tour of India after failing to complete an assignment set by coach Mickey Arthur.
“I can understand what the captain and coach were trying to achieve but I’m not sure I totally agree with what happened,” he said. “I don’t know for sure how I would have handled that situation but those type of things didn’t happen when I was captain.”