Australia's cricketing Prince Ponting calls it a day

There is no getting away from the fact that all good things,whether one likes it or not,must come to an end. And it was no different with Australian Captain, the likeable cricketing Australian Ricky Ponting, a Prince of Cricket in his own right.

And it sure would have been heart rending and emotionally moving when he had to finally succumb and call it a day.The legend announced his retirement on the eve of the Third Test against South Africa to be played in Perth.

With his retirement a star that shone and glittered goes out of the Australian cricketing firmament. From the time he proudly sported the baggy green Aussie cap, he maintained its tradition and played with honour and pride for his country.

Grew and grew

He made his debut which grew and grew with each game against Sri Lanka.He was unfortunate to miss a historic century when he was out in the nervous nineties.

But that failure did not deter him. On the contrary it gave him the impetus, the determination and courage to be the scourge of the opposing bowlers and score boat loads of runs.

When he was at the wicket wielding his bat like a magic wand and playing every stroke in the book, there was no better sight to watch than the little right hander in full cry mauling the bowlers.

On drive and pull

His pet strokes were the on drive and the pull. They are some of the most difficult strokes to execute. But Ponting with good eye, foot to the ball when playing the on drive and timing it beautifully sent the leather screeching to the fence.

For the pull shot, he moved back, watched the ball on to the bat and however vicious the bouncer, he would pull or hook and the bowler and the fielders would watch the ball in flight sailing over the boundary.

He learnt the nuances and apprenticed under another champion Australian Captain the great Stephen Waugh. And when Waugh went, he fitted into the captaincy boots with ease.

Incredible success

He led Australia in more than 300 Test and One-Day matches. He won 48 Tests which was moré than any other Australian captain and has an incredible success rate of almost 72 per cent. As the one day captain he won164 of his 228 matches.

Ponting blasted 13,366 runs in 167 tests at 52.21 and 13,704 runs in 375 One-Day Internationals. Hailing from Tasmania, he boasts of 41 centuries, with Indian demi-god Sachin Tendulkar scoring more.

When the current season began, it was thought that he had recharged his batteries and was ready to fire when he banged a big hundred in the Sheffield shield game and was ready for the South Africans.

Unforgiving Aussie media

But with him flopping in the three innings against the South Africans, the all too familiar cry calling for him to quit, like he was forced out of the one-day scene, began to be heard by the unforgiving Aussie media.

And the great Ponting whom the game will always remember and revere decided that enough is enough on the eve of the Third Test against South Africa and called finis.

When Ponting plays at the WACA in Perth, he will take off equaling Steve Waugh's mark of having played 168 Test matches for the country. 'Over the last couple of weeks my level of performance hasn't been good enough.

Passion hasn't changed

'My passion and love for the game hasn't changed but at the end of the day (the decision) was based on my results. I am glad I have got the opportunity to finish on my terms', said Ponting.

His only regrets would be that as captain he lost the 2005 Ashes in England. Despite slapping a 5-0 revenge in the home series that followed in 2006/07 and 2010/11, he again lost in 2009 and 2010/11.

Under the captaincy of Michael Clarke the Australian game that was fading is now beginning to shine again and Australia would be hard put to find a cricketer and captain in the mould of the great RICKY PONTING.

Gutless Lankan batting

It was a gutless batting display by the New Zealand cricketers that saw them slump to defeat against Sri Lanka inside three days in Galle in the First of Two Test matches.

This malady seemed to have affected the Sri Lankans as well: and they too put on display a gutless batting disply to help New Zealand save face,win the Second Test by 167 runs and square the meaningless Two Test series.

Before the series began, we commented on the exercise in futility of playing Two Test matches. And we were justified because by each side winning a Test and sharing the trophy and the winners' prize money, no purpose was served.

Let this be an eye opener to the countries playing and the International Cricket Council to make sense by playing more than TwoTest matches. It should be Three Tests and nothing less.

Congratulations Kiwis

While not wanting to comment on the gutless display of the Lankans, I would like to offer my congratulations to the New Zealanders well led by Ross Taylor . His exemplary century provided pivotal leadership to the New Zealanders. After their defeat in Galle, they managed to raise their game and come at the Lankans with a vengeance. It was a great team effort but we must single out Kane Williamson who scored a century, and Tim Southee, Trent Boult and Doug Bracwell who gave a lesson in great seam bowling.

Another happy man would surely be former Sri Lanka champion seam bowler Chaminda Vaas the assistant bowling coach to Shane Bond. It was good thinking by the Kiwi authorities to ask Vaas to help. He did a marvelous job and came in for high praise from Taylor.

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