Australian cricket legend Ricky Ponting insists that he is comfortable with his decision to retire, after missing out on a fairy-tale ending to his test career.

37-year-old Ponting was unable to prevent the Baggy Greens falling to a comprehensive defeat in the final test against South Africa, with the hosts falling 309 runs short of their victory target.

Victory for Australia would have meant a return to the top of the ICC World Test Rankings for the first time in a number of years, but as it was the visitors stepped up their performance in Perth having narrowly missed out on defeat in the first two tests to hold onto their position at the top of international cricket.

On an individual level things also failed to go to plan for Ponting with the former captain again failing to make an impact on the game, hitting only 12 runs overall from his two innings to take his total to just 32 in the entire series.

Such a poor return probably justifies Ponting’s decision to call it a day after a wonderful career, but the Tasmanian admits that he would have loved to have gone out on a high:

It was not the way I wanted to finish with that performance and that result. However, the decision to walk away was a pretty easy one. I have tried to stay away from watching and listening to everything about my retirement this week. It's not unfolded the way I would have liked. I have and cherished every moment, it was always going to end at some stage I guess.

The retirement means that Ponting finishes his career with a staggering 13,378 Test match runs, and his average of just over 50 means that he is the second only to Sachin Tendulkar in that regard as well.

The South African players took it upon themselves to show their appreciation of Ponting’s achievements by forming a guard of honour after he was dismissed for the final time, and the Australian batsman said that he was touched by opposing captain, Graeme Smith’s gesture:

I was a little bit embarrassed and wish it didn't happen that way, but it was an amazing gesture by Graeme and the South African team. There are so many highlights I guess through 168 Tests. Your debuts are always special, Ashes series are always special, any time we've played against South Africa in my time has been a special series.

If you are a huge cricket fan or like to watch whilst playing online, you cannot doubt that he is one of the best the game has ever seen and will be missed.

This is the season of captains bidding adieu. On March 23rd, we heard Cricket Australia denied any chances of the controversial Aussie captain Ricky Ponting's retirement. On 29th, he resigned. The Sydney Morning Herald reported yesterday that Ponting, 36, was likely to face stiff opposition at boardroom level to retain his job for next month's tour of Bangladesh. Australian Cricketers' Association chief Paul Marsh said it was "gutless" and "irresponsible" for a Cricket Australia official to forecast the axing of the Australian captain so close to the team's World Cup clash with India. What does that tell us? Are CA and Ponting not on good terms? The resignation has come when Ponting has failed to hit an International century for 13 months. Ponting has had major highs and lows.

Ponting's  last words as captain:

It’s funny how we talk about losing the Ashes series three times.
Playing on three World Cup winning teams doesn’t come up very often, winning 16 consecutive Test matches doesn’t come up very much, winning 30-odd consecutive World Cup matches doesn’t come up very often. 

So right. He has experienced extremes, from losing to Bangladesh in the summer of '05 to winning World Cups. The one dream which will remain a dream is winning the Ashes in England, something Ponting himself referred to, as a dream. After losing the Ashes '09, he said he'd like to come back here in 2013 and accomplish his goal. Captains like him are rare. I personally hold a lot against him, he's annoying, too quarreling, extremely arrogant. He wants to win, by hook or by crook. But it's all for Australia. Not many are as patriotic and win hungry as this guy. Following him, Sri Lanka's Sangakkara has resigned as one-day and Twenty20 captain. Daniel Vettori has retired from Twenty20 cricket and resigned from one-day captaincy. He said he's almost sure that he won't captain NZ in Tests either. However, Tests are a big part of why he plays the game so he'll continue to do so. He has had to bear many disappoints as a captain. The most prominent being the whitewash by Bangladesh.


Rumours of England captain Andrew Strauss stepping down have been doing rounds ever since England went home from the World Cup. There is also word from the coach that his future as the one-day captain is being discussed. There are 2 and a half months to go for England's first ODI against Sri Lanka so Straussy has a lot of time of think.

External links:  

• Andrew Strauss expected to resign as England one-day captain
• Ponting axing leak gutless, irresponsible: players' union
• RICKY PONTING could be in the final week of his nine-year reign as Australia's captain

Related posts:

• What do England need? Changes or something else?
• Australia butchered by England!

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England vs Australia 2nd Test: 3-7 December
Day 2
Seems like England carried the momentum of the Gabba to Adelaide. After getting Australia out for 245, Alastair Cook continued his innings of 235*. At the end of Day 2, he is on 129*, along with star batsman Kevin Pietersen. There were question marks over the places of both before the Ashes began. Day 2 started in a dramatic fashion with the wicket of Andrew Strauss. But that was all for Australia. Australia bowled 88 overs after that and could only take one wicket - Trott (78). Alastair Cook is having a great series. He was under pressure when it began and the action has been around him. If Day 4 of the 1st Test was about his and Strauss' ton, Day 5 was about his double ton. He has been on the field for most of the series so far. In my post, England ends on a high as 1st Ashes Test drawn I've mentioned exactly how much time he spent on the field. He is young, he is sexy and he is selectors' favourite. Ali Cook will turn 26 this Christmas. He has struck 15 centuries so far.

The weather forecast says it will remain mostly cloudy at Adelaide with chances of shower at times. But then, it predicted thunderstorm for today as well. Rain has the best chance of saving Australia, followed by Hussey, Ponting and Clarke. England shall declare at 600 and aim for an innings defeat. Lastly, I would like to congratulate Ricky Ponting for his 150th Test. What a game it's turning out to be for him.

Brief scores:

• Aus 245 (Hussey 93, Haddin 56, Watson 51, Anderson 4/51, Swann 2/70)
• Eng 317/2 (Cook 136, Pietersen 85,Trott 78)

Related posts:

• Alastair Cook Wallpaper!
• Centurians Cook, Strauss and flat pitch get England out of trouble
• England ends on a high as 1st Ashes Test drawn 
• Australia tumbles as Anderson rumbles! 
• Cook shines at Oval but not enough for England 

I hate losing games of cricket. Every game that I play in, whether it's for my club side, Middlesex or England, every game you lose leads to a period of reflection. There were areas where I didn't bowl as well as I could have done and that might have contributed towards us losing the game. That's something I'm very aware of, and in the grand scheme of things you learn a lot from that having lost that Test

 Steven Finn is not the kind who take their place for granted

Watson singled Finn out as the potential weak link in the England attack. Funny thing. Jimmy Anderson can struggle on flat tracks, which is more of a mental thing though he is improving. Swann has been very successful, which is more of a mental thing, again. And if I have to single out any England bowler as a weak link, it would be Broad, which is not a mental thing. It will be interesting to see if Ponting gets out on a pull shot off Broad, something we have seen in the past. But other than a few batsmen getting out on the pull, I don't see Broad doing much, other than breaking partnerships occasionally.
Like everyone, Ponting is having a go at England's "foreign" players:

I just have a feeling England really like Morgan, what he brings to their set-up – plus he’s not English. I have got a lot of thoughts on why they pick those guys, it is quite surprising when you work out how many there are. But it doesn’t matter where they are born, we have to make sure whatever team they put out we are equipped to break them down. I think one of the reasons for playing Morgan is his attitude – but he hasn’t been tested against us yet.

They are all taking at the new guys, Finn, Morgan....who's next?

England vs Pakistan 4th Test: 26-30 August
Preview
Surprisingly, Pakistan dropped Shoaib Malik for the 3rd Test and now for the one day series. Younis Khan has not been called up either. Pakistan never fails to amaze us. Malik gives them a bowling option and without him and Amin, who has broken partnerships a few times this summer, Pakistan lacked a 5th bowling option. The reason why Pakistan drops anyone has always been a mystery. And though Malik did not fire in the first 2 Tests, the reason could be something else. Captain Salman Butt and long time wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal have failed too. England captain Andrew Strauss has averaged a meagre 28.40 in the series while Kevin Pietersen follows with 28, though I'd reckon he has played worse than that. Steven Finn suggested that a batting collapse (Pakistan) is just around the corner by reminding us that Pakistan were routed for 72 and 80 earlier in the series. But English need to take care of their batting collapses. It's appalling. They can lose from any position if winning is dependent on the batsmen. Must have scored at least 300 in the 2nd innings at Oval, given how well Cooky played. The match starts at 10 am GMT at Lord's, Finn and Straussy's home ground on Thursday.

A few days ago, we heard that Shahzad and Morgan have been selected for the Test side and Belly has been ruled out of the 4 Test series. True, there is never a good time to get injured but it is the worst when you have just made your comeback. Trott and Morgan pose a threat to Bell. Now Bresnan, who has played a lot more than he should have played, has replaced injured Shahzad. Half of England's selection woes are solved by injuries. I seriously doubt Bresnan's credentials as a Test player. It is compulsory for every Test playing nation to tour and host every other Test playing nation at least once in 5 years and now that no International matches are being played in Pakistan, they will tour and host England in England. This English summer is full of International matches as the summer stretches to September 22. While England are playing in the seaming, swinging conditions, Australia will play 2 Tests and 3 ODIs in India before playing against Sri Lanka at home as part of their Ashes preparation, which Ponting has regarded as the worst preparation. England will not play any International matches after playing Pakistan, before the Ashes.
        Andrew Flintoff has backed fellow Lancastrian James Anderson to prove to be England's best bowler during the Tests against Pakistan and the Ashes. With new spearhead Finn, still in the reckoning Sidebottom, fiery Shahzad, things will be hard for grumpy Jimmy, who can be lethal in swinging conditions but has a history of being down in the dumps and a bad record in Australia. Onions looked impressive last year but he is injured and will be hard for him to his way to the Ashes. Kudos to Sidebottom for his confidence about playing in the Ashes who has warned the current lot of fast bowlers that he will come knocking as soon as they falter.
                                             Pakistan are on a high after defeating Australia for the first time in Tests in 15 years. But with them you never know when they are going to be disastrous or spirited. They have good fast bowlers but changing captains so often and their fragile batting may not help. Salman Butt has vowed that he will not criticize his players no matter what, unlike Mohammad Yousuf who decided to be a captain-cum-critic, once commented that Salman Butt "cannot run". The 1st Test of the series will start today at 10 am GMT at Trent Bridge, Nottingham, watch out for it!
Until next time, take care, Cheers!

Australia batted first again. Anderson started well again. But he was taken off by Strauss after conceding 8 runs (2 boundaries off his last deliveries) in his 3rd over. Bressie took his first wicket of the series by removing Paine. Swann got Watson's wicket in his first over (17th over of the innings). England took a very long time to take the third wicket, during which I went downstairs. I am so not enjoying this series. Why does Australia play a One Day series in England? Anyways, Anderson took Ponting's wicket for 92 in the 42nd over. I don't think Ponting would be too disappointed, that asshole has always wanted Australia to win more than anything else. Australia lost one wicket each in the 48th and 49th over and finished at 290/5. They could score more, given how long Ponting and Clarke played. Clarke finished on 99 not out. There was a time when he used to bat with a good strike rate. Now he was left at 99 because he isn't any good in the death overs.
                                                               Kieswetter failed again and KP's dismissal was controversial. I've seen it lots of times that KP is given not out because of his long stride but not this time. Seemed like he shouldn't have been given out, to me. You can't always believe hawk-eye. I only started watching when England had lost 4 wickets. Morgan and Swann have been impressive ever since they came into the side. Ponting had criticized England's bits and pieces players before the series began. I would say that he has been proved right but England do have better players and England have had a long batting line-up for a long time but every time they collapsed, they all did. Getting out like tail-enders, one by one. Swann should be sent up the order, he should be shown some belief. Someone who opens the batting for Nottinghamshire cannot be a No.10 for England. Wright hasn't done much with the bat, ever, for England, in one day cricket. When he came into the side, I thought he is taking his time to settle down. I would like to see Belly replacing him and anyone replacing Bresnan. Until next time, take care, Cheers!

Surprising everyone, Strauss won the toss and elected to bowl first. James Anderson started off well and Bresnan leaked runs. By the end of over 9, Australia were 45/0, Anderson had given 11 in 5 overs, Bressie 34 in 4 overs! I don't know a lot about bowling but I know a few ways of taking wickets. If you keep it tight from both ends, the batsmen will get frustated and they will try to hit you, giving you a chance to get them out. Yardy got the breakthrough. A sharp stumping by Kieswetter off Swann, got rid of Punter. It took England a while to take the third wicket of Watson for 61. Watson rarely gets past 50s so this must be an achievement. Then England kept taking wickets at regular wickets and the Australians never seemed to get out of trouble. Anderson and Broad wrapped the Australian innings for 212 by taking 4 wickets in 3 overs. Awesome stuff from Anderson.
                                                       Kieswetter was bowled by Tait in the first over of the innings. Young lad gone but we have a long batting to come. England would chase this modest total easily. I didn't watch much of England's batting thinking that they would chase it comfortably and slowly. During this time, I watched a bit of a movie, England vs Germany, surfed the net with an eye on the score. I only took interest in the match when England were 7 down. And I left the computer for tv when Swann got out. When Broad got out, I really thought Australia would take it from here and whitewashing plans would be over. But Bressie, the Yorky took us home in Lanky. We've better bowlers than him but he is gonna play some matches now. What a win. The first close match of the series. 3-0. Swann got the Man Of The Match award with his 4 wickets. The ever smiling Strauss is happy with the win and his 87. Cheers!