The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Ponting ridicules ECB for trying to stop Australians’ county stint

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Mar 21, 2009
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Sport

Sport - Cricket

Ponting ridicules ECB for trying to stop Australians’ county stint

Melbourne: Australian skipper Ricky Ponting took at dig at the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) for trying to stop Stuart Clark and Phil Hughes from playing for Kent and Middlesex in the county season.

The ECB fears the counties decision to play Clark and Hughes prior to the Ashes series in July will benefit Australia.

“My role is not to tell the counties how to run their businesses, but, from an England point of view, it does not help our Ashes situation,” England selector Geoff Miller had complained.

“We are giving two players the opportunity to use our conditions... and get match practice after injury. I cannot imagine Australia would do something reciprocal before we go over there next time or any time. I want England and the counties to work as closely as possible and this does not make the relationship closer,” he said.

Ponting said the ECB was making all the fuss for nothing. “It will help them (Phillip Hughes and Stuart Clark) for the fact that they will get to play some cricket and probably get a good amount of cricket under their belt,” Ponting told The Daily Telegraph.

“I’m not sure they’ll learn too much about themselves or about the England Test team, though, by playing those few county games that they’re going to play.”

Ponting reminded the English Board that Australian players had used county cricket for warm-up and English players did the same.

“This has been happening for how many years? I don’t know why it’s all of a sudden an issue now. Guys have been picked out of county teams and out of minor counties to play in Test matches while they’ve been in England, so I don’t see the big deal in it.

“Are there many tournaments or competitions in the world where things like that don’t happen? I believe Andrew Strauss was playing cricket in New Zealand just before he got picked back in their Test side, so what’s the difference there?” Ponting asked. — PTI

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Sport