Ricky Ponting’s announcement that tomorrow’s third Test will be his last ends one of the greatest careers in Australian, and world, cricket.
It will be his 168th appearance in the baggy green, equalling the record held by the man who preceded him as Test skipper, Steve Waugh.
He had long stated that he had unfinished business in England and that he was keen to return for the Ashes series in the middle of next year but, like many, it appears he felt the writing was on the wall.
Despite performing brilliantly in the Sheffield Shield arena in the lead-in to the current South African series the former skipper has not been able to replicate it against the Proteas attack with scores of 0, 4 and 16.
He revived his career last summer against India with a century in Sydney and a double ton in Adelaide however his performances since have shown that at 38 years of age Father Time is against him.
In a touch of irony, he will play his last Test at the venue at which he played his first.
As a raw 20-year-old he burst onto the scene with a fluent 96 against Sri Lanka in December 1995.
It was the first Test match I commentated and I was sitting next to his parents with radio microphone in hand ready to interview them when their son posted his century on debut.
The milestone was never reached as umpire Kaizer Hyatt gave him out leg before to Chaminda Vaas.
I was convinced from my vantage point at ground level the ball was going to sail well over the stumps.
Upon returning to the commentary box I was vindicated in my thoughts when umpteen replays were shown throughout the afternoon.
Ponting faced a watershed moment early in his international career when he was involved in a drunken altercation outside the Bourbon & Beefsteak Restaurant in Sydney.
The then 21-year-old fronted the media sporting a black eye and copped a three-match suspension from Cricket Australia, whilst admitting to having a problem with alcohol.
It was a problem that he duly overcame as he embarked on a glittering career.
Ponting’s abundant talent was identified at an early age with Cricket Academy chief Rod Marsh proclaiming him the best teenage batsman he had seen.
During the peak of his career he was regularly bracketed alongside Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara as the greatest batsman of his generation.
In his pomp, Ponting was an exhilarating player to watch.
He was particularly fierce on fast bowling with the pull shot one of his major weapons although it tended to be less productive late in his career.
His withering cut shot and back-foot driving were other hallmarks of his repertoire.
A brilliant fieldsman, either at second slip to the quicks or in the ring, where he often struck with a deadly accurate right arm.
Ponting is one of those sportsmen who could have chosen a variety of elite level pursuits in which to excel.
Having got as low as scratch at golf he was equally skilled with an Aussie Rules ball in hand.
There will never be any debate over his place in the pantheon of batting greats but his role as a captain will be much more difficult to rate.
He inherited one of the greatest teams Australia has produced when Waugh retired at the end of the 2003-04 summer.
Through his first 35 Tests at the helm he had a winning percentage of 77.1 compared to Waugh’s 71.9.
But it was at the end of his 35th Test as captain, following the historic 5-nil victory of England, that his team began to dismantle.
Gone in one fell swoop were Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Justin Langer.
In the following 18 months they would be joined by Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden, Brett Lee and Stuart MacGill.
For Ponting, the job became infinitely harder.
In the end, he led his country at Test level on 77 occasions for a win rate of 62.3% but despite that record he will always be remembered as the captain who lost three Ashes series.
In the one-day arena he was supreme, captaining his country a world record 230 times, winning three consecutive World Cups and boasting a winning percentage of 76.1.
Ponting is to be commended for announcing his retirement today rather than trying to hang on for a farewell and an Australian record 169th appearance in his home state of Tasmania.
Lets’s hope he still has something special up his sleeve over the next five days.
Either way, Ricky Ponting will leave the game with a record that will stand the test of time, with some of the notable achievements including:
– The second highest Test run aggregate behind Tendulkar, currently 13,366 at 52.2 with 41 centuries
– The second highest ODI aggregate of 13,704 runs (again behind Tendulkar) at 42.0 with 30 centuries
– Second highest number of catches by a fieldsman in Test cricket, currently 196, 14 behind Rahul Dravid
– Six Test double centuries, the second most by ann Australian behind Don Bradman (12)
– Highest Test score of 257 against India at the MCG
– Highest ODI score of 164 against South Africa at Johannesburg
Neuen
Roar Rookie
He is the worst test captain ever for losing those two? What about the record wins he notched up for Australia? Don't that outweigh it? The dream team he did not have to do much as it was basically a car driving itself. You need support from a team when things do not go your way and Ponting was human (although it did not look that way on occasions). His fellow experience mates deserted him and nothing he could do about it.
Ryan O'Connell
Expert
Mum always said if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. As such, I'll just let Timmy's comments sail through to the keeper, and I'll prepare myself for the next ball.
Timothy Vee
Guest
Ponting is arguably the worst Test Captain Australia has ever had. It was a great shame that he was left in charge of the team, Warne or Gillchrist would have achieved a better team performance than Ponting. His poor performance as Captain is highlighted more than it normally would have been give he is from the same era as Steve Waugh who was a great captain. Ponting should have left the game more than a year ago, he has been a drag on the team for the last year and has only been there to line his own pocket with money. Make no mistake Ponting has done nothing in his career for the good of Australian Cricket he has done it all for himself. Ponting took the Dream Team to England twice and managed to loose that ashes twice with the best team members since the Invincibles. Terrible field placements, bad timming of changes, bad decisions on follow on enforcement. Nearly any other player in the team could have done a better job as Captain than Ponting. He has left test cricket with an average only slightly better than Gillchrist who was a wicket keeper. Good batsman sure and at the height of his power real real good, but he wont go down as a great. I saw Gilly's statement about him staying on for the team trying to make out he did it to aid Australia, what a load of crud, if he was doing anything for the team and for Australia he would have stood down as captain and let Warne take over for 2 or three years and extend Warnes time in the game.
The Barry
Roar Guru
I feel like a weight is off my shoulers now that Ponting has retired. Instead of arguing why I think he should be dropped I'm able to celebrate what a great player and aussie legend he has been. At his peak he looked like no one would ever get him out. Surely would have to go down as one of the best pull shot exponents of all time. He had so much time to play one of the toughest shots in the book. I also recall from the 2003 World Cup final him hitting a six down the ground. His follow through looked just like a golf tee shot - it was so effortless.
Riccardo
Guest
The last legend from a team of legends is departing. Raise your glasses and your voices people.
Punter
Guest
How about a 2nd X1 Mark Taylor VC Bill Lawry or Justin Langer Ian Chappell capt Mark Waugh Michael Clarke Dougie Walters Ian Healy Brett Lee Or Graeme McKenzie Jason Gillispie Craig Mcdermott Stuart McGill
Richard
Guest
The fact you have Ricky at No 3 says it all. I think we forget that a bit especially non cricket lovers. He played at number 3 through one of our greatest eras. As a Tasmanian I would have D Boon in as one of the openers(I'm biased). His Ashes record as captain is his great flaw. No one is perfect and he wasn't a natural captain. In that regard he had some bad luck both on the field and in his timing with his career. But it shouldn't take away from what a sublime and wonderful batsman and competitor he was, a great example to those who will follow. All the best Ricky, it will be some time before we see your likes again.
Sandy
Guest
Agree, utter garbage. AnotherView might be code for Troll.
Richard
Guest
No mention of Ricky Disco!.Are you playing the dried up lemon right to the end...
Richard
Guest
Mate, I could not have said it better.. Cheers from Tasmania!
ak
Roar Guru
If Sachin stays put till the next Border-Gavaskar series who knows we might get to see an interesting sight. Sachin playing and Ricky as commentator. Maybe we may get to see Ricky interviewing Sachin at the post match presentation !!!
Andy_Roo
Roar Guru
Agree with james
Red Kev
Guest
Bugger 96, we want one more ton!
Andy_Roo
Roar Guru
Two problems there. One his form was not good enough to get him on the ashes tour and two I think you are deluded if you think this AUS team can beat England in England.
Ryan O'Connell
Expert
Absolutely spot on, Todd. You nailed it. It was a disgrace how much the Australian team was hung out to dry after that Test.
bestywins
Roar Rookie
Not a bad team . Gr8 for a debate or two or three lol. I'd have Ian Chappell in there instead of Greg just for his captaincy. Cream on the cake imo. Interesting comment from Kepler Wessells about Ian Chappell in the paper where he said one of his highlights of wolrd series was playing under him. Cheers
Worlds biggest
Guest
I thought Punter would see out the Summer as he could have found form against Sri Lanka, then see if he was up for another Ashes campaign. Alas the great man bows out in Perth, the second greatest batsman in Australian Cricket history and one of the Worlds best for the last 10-15 years. Would love to see him finish with a ton and a win. Well done Punter !
Todd Johnson
Guest
Bad call AV. I still can't believe that Australia was painted as the bad guy in that series. A couple of bad calls by the umpires, Bhaji tries to be a hardarse and goes too far and next thing the Indians were packing up and going home from the tour. If you wanted to be critical of Ponting you could say that at times his captaincy lacked imagination and aggression. But to carry on with the rubbish about the ugly Australians isn't right. That was basically a media beat up because Australia got sick of watching Australia steam roll every team from 1997 - 2008 (1 or 2 series aside...). Now that we're losing more regularly we'd love to see the Aussies stick it up SA this weekend and give Faf a send off after Mitch knocks his middle peg out!
David M
Guest
Ricky and Sachin, what a privilege to watch them. Unfortunately, neither were great captains but both in the best 5 batsmen ever. From what I hear and read, Bradman wasn't a fantastic captain either - might be a message in that. Hope to see a Punter ton this weekend.
doozel
Guest
Absolute champion, will be missed greatly. Only have to see how hard it was for Quiney. My 7 year old shed a tear and I felt like it as well. The best puller of a cricket ball ever. What a shot! At his best there was no where you could bowl, he could attack any length ball. Tough as nails, one of the most memorable moments was him getting hit flush in the face at silly point and spitting out the blood and not moving an inch.