The Hindu : Sport : Ponting among the elite

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Saturday, Nov 25, 2006
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Ponting among the elite

It was a formidable display of skill and determination, writes Peter Roebuck

Ricky Ponting has made his point. His century in Brisbane was a statement of intent and an exhibition of superb craftsmanship. Along the way the Tasmanian introduced himself as a man of substance. Doubts about his maturity were obliterated.

In his own way, Ponting informed all and sundry that he was back in business. Oh yes, and if England was going to retain the Ashes, it'd be over his dead body.

It is not possible to keep a good man down. Previously, Ponting had won a World Cup and scored a hundred in the final. His team had prevailed in Sri Lanka and India. He had scored 31 hundreds in Test cricket and was in hot pursuit of the record. But he had one blot on his escutcheon and he meant to erase it.

In 2005 he had lost the Ashes, a blow that he took personally. If he did not get them back he'd be remembered for the blunder in Birmingham and not the match-saving innings in Manchester. Worse, he'd be regarded as a failure.

Moreover, he was the first captain ever to emerge from Tasmania, let alone the back blocks of that remote State. So he tossed and turned in bed, plotting his revenge. And what better way to start the fightback than by winning the toss and scoring a hundred?

Total command

And so he went to work, a little, perky, alert man poised over a bat, ready to pounce on anything wayward, prepared to subdue anything threatening. From the first ball he faced till the last he encountered a day and many hours later he was in command of himself and the bowling.

He hardly missed a ball, hardly made a mistake. It was a formidable display of skill and determination. It was the innings of a leader. The England attack was decimated.

High on the list

Ponting's 32nd Test hundred confirmed that he deserves a place high in the batting rankings. Amongst contemporaries he belongs alongside the finest willow wielders — Brian Lara, Sachin Tendulkar and Jacques Kallis. Three of these batsmen scored hundreds during the week, and the Indian master was his team's highest scorer. Nevertheless, Lara and Tendulkar are past their peaks.

Both have spent many years at the top and the strain shows. Kallis and Ponting are the new champions and the Australian has the edge because he always tries to take the initiative.

Amongst Australians past and present Ponting belongs in an elite that embraces The Don, Victor Trumper and Greg Chappell. A case can be made for including Allan Border, who averaged 50 in Test cricket and played in the toughest times against unrelentingly fierce bowlers. But it counts against Border that he was by inclination as well as circumstance a wary batsman. He was a comrade to have by your side in battle but not a fellow likely to dictate terms.

Awe inspiring

Trumper's inclusion may surprise but a man is best judged by his contemporaries and they spoke of him with awe. Arthur Mailey took his wicket once in a club match and felt like he had brought down a beautiful bird.

Mailey was a fine leg-spinner but he did not consider himself a worthy opponent to the genius of the era. Trumper was an artist but he played many wonderful innings on wet pitches and without much protection. Bradman was the greatest batsman the game has known, and a production of the scientific age.

Greg Chappell combined heavy scoring with the classical style. Ponting is a modernist, quick-witted, daring, fit and uncomplicated. All of them have been giants of their age.

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