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Former Australian paceman Geoff Lawson says Ricky Ponting is being incredibly self-indulgent and should have already retired from Test cricket. Ponting called a media conference on Tuesday at the SCG following his axing from Australia’s one-day side.
The 37-year-old told reporters he didn’t expect to get picked in the one-day team again, but he was determined to pursue his goal of winning selection for Australia’s Ashes tour in 2013.
Ponting’s five single-figure scores in this summer’s tri-series against Sri Lanka and India led to the triple World Cup winner’s departure from the one-day team.
But the former skipper’s 544 runs at 108.80 in four Tests against India have left the 162-match veteran enthusiastic about carrying on at Test level, with a tour of the West Indies to come in April.
Lawson says if Ponting is true to his word about going out on top, then now’s the time.
“I thought the press conference was one of the most self indulgent little pieces of self interest I’ve seen for a long time,” Lawson said on Sydney’s Sky Sports Radio on Wednesday.
“I listened very intently to it and there was a lot of ‘I’ … ‘I this’ and ‘I’ that’ and ‘how I’m good for the team’ and I’m really annoyed by it.
“I just thought it was incredibly self indulgent.
“Maybe Ricky needed it but I don’t think the team needed it.
“He said he wanted to go out on top. Well, he just made a double hundred in the Test match (in Adelaide last month).
“The only way he can go now is down.
“To retire after Adelaide would have been absolutely perfect.”
Former Pakistan coach Lawson urged Australia’s selectors to start looking towards the future.
“If he doesn’t make runs in the three Shield games, I’m not sure why he should be going to the West Indies,” Lawson said.
“Let’s move on and get a young player in there.”
Former Australian captain Allan Border, whose 156-Test career ended in South Africa in 1994 at the age of 38, backed Ponting’s decision to play on.
“He’s still playing very good cricket as we saw in the last Test series against India but his one-day form has been off his absolute best,” Border told foxsports.com.au
“There’s a feeling that the media feels as though it’s a better thing if the player concerned sticks his hand up and retires gracefully but I just don’t think that’s in Ricky.
“He’ll cop it on the chin. If his time is up and the selectors make the call, he’ll accept that.”
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