Ricky Ponting’s decision to step down from the Test and One-Day International (ODI) captaincy of the Australian cricket team marks the end of an era in Australian sport.
Despite Ponting’s acceptance that he was no longer the man to lead the Australian cricket team, various sections of the media continue to call for Pontings retirement from the game.
Some have gone as far as suggesting that he will be a destabilising influence on the Australian cricket team whilst he remains in the background.
I can only think of one word for these suggestions, nonsense.
The media hype surrounding Ponting leading up to, during and after the World Cup culminating in his decision to step down as captain has been nothing short of disgraceful.
Ponting’s treatment has unequivocally demonstrated that Australia’s love affair of the tall poppy syndrome is alive and well. We love nothing more than to cut our sporting icons down to size.
The tall poppy syndrome is a societal phenomenon in which people of great talent and ability are criticised because their achievements elevate them above or distinguish them from other peers.
Well let’s consider Ponting’s stats:
Most test victories as a player: 99
Most test victories as captain: 48
Most consecutive test victories as captain: 16 (tied with Steve Waugh)
Most test runs for an Australian: 12,363
Most test centuries for an Australian: 39
Most victories as ODI captain: 164
Most ODI’s runs for an Australian: 13,288
Most ODI centuries for an Australian: 29
Most World Cup victories as a player: 3 (tied several)
Most World Cup victories as captain: 2 (tied with Clive Lloyd)
Most World Cup appearances as a player: 46
Most Wold Cup matches as captain: 29
Most World Cup victories as captain: 26
Not bad by any stretch of the imagination. A thorough review of spot statistics would also have Ponting leading many other individual categories.
So how then did Ponting go from world-beater one-day, to the scrap heap the next? And why has the overwhelming majority of Australia turned on him?
Australia’s response to Ponting’s captaincy and form is historical, we are the nation that believes in ‘a fair go’ that backs an underdog, unless that underdog happens to be one of the greatest sportsman this country has produced.
Many will point to the recent demise of the Australian cricket team under Ponting’s captaincy. His dogmatic approach, petulance and arrogance, but hasn’t he always been that way?
Who can forget Ponting’s insistence on taking an out of form Andrew Symonds to the 2003 Cricket World Cup when others were calling for the inclusion of Steve Waugh.
In Australia’s opening match Symonds scored a scintillating 143 not out when Australia were deep in trouble at 4 for 86.
Symonds went on to amass 326 runs in nine matches at the 2003 Cricket World Cup. He averaged 163.00, Australia went undefeated and Ponting was labelled a genius.
Ponting’s sustained form slump hasn’t helped his cause but the suggestion that the added pressures of captaincy have exacerbated his slump aren’t supported by statistics.
Comparing Ponting’s batting average as a player against his average as a captain, in tests, Ponting’s average dipped only slightly when he was captain, from 55.97 to 51.51.
More interestingly however was that Ponting’s average in ODIs was better when he was captain. As captain he averaged 43.30 and as a player he averages 41.37.
This is even off the back of a significant dip in his averages since the retirements of McGrath, Warne, Hayden and even Gilchrist.
So was the protracted criticism and pressure placed on Ponting to relinquish the captaincy of the Australian cricket team a little premature? There is no doubt.
Ponting’s record as a player and as a captain is exemplary; anyone who suggests otherwise is allowing their personal opinions of Ponting to cloud their judgement.
When Ponting announced he was stepping down from the captaincy of the Australian cricket team, we should have reflected on his overall performance and achievements during his seven years at the helm. Instead we focused on the recent lowlights.
According to golfer Greg Norman, Australia’s love affair with the tall poopy syndrome goes a long way to explaining this. When an Australian buys a sports car instead of saying ‘nice sports car’ we are more inclined to try and scratch it.
So if you think Ponting has been unfairly criticised, or you disagree that he will be a destabilising influence on the Australian cricket team; now is your chance to throw some support behind one of our greats of the game.
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