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No 'dislike' option in facebook as of now....so feel free to comment and criticize
No 'dislike' option in facebook as of now....so feel free to comment and criticize
Rule of the world:
“Being best will always cause a problem. It is like a goalkeeper’s performance. No matter how many balls you stop, people will always remember the one you missed”! A recent and noteworthy example that justifies the above statement is the change in the Australian Cricket team’s captaincy!
Let me be very clear here:“If there is one player in the entire history of this divine game called‘CRICKET’ whom I have loved to the peak and equally hated at times, it’s the finest captain of our times ‘RICKY THOMAS PONTING’!
Having come from a family that had a strong background in cricket and scoring 4 centuries in a week in Northern Tasmania junior cricket competition, Ponting was sure about taking cricket as his career. He was a big fan of David Boon in childhood and now surely the people who have watched both these players won’t mind rating Ponting higher. Even though he made his debut against the South African team in 1995, the first signs of an emerging stylish player came out in the 1996 subcontinent world cup. A 21-year promising youth with a French beard, lightening fast movements who used to cover at least a 10 feet circle around him lonely while fielding, the delightful hook shots certainly impressed the cricket fans around the world. However, the journey wasn’t that smooth until 1999. Lack of form leading to regular place exchange with Darren Lehman, indiscipline resulting in suspensions made Ponting himself realize that his career was on ‘thin ice’ and he had clearly ‘over-stepped’ the mark.
Here came 1999 and was undoubtedly the year that redefined ‘Aussies cricket’. Ponting was a success story along with Steve Waugh in both of their encounters against South Africans who were the hot-favorites in the tournament. After the heart-breaking semifinal match in Edgbaston, Kangaroos managed to win the world cup. Then followed, Sri Lanka and West Indies tours, Ponting was in incredible form and his place was now ‘secure’! Even though test team was performing well (except a loss against India), the ODI team suffered a slump in 2002, Steve Waugh had to resign his captaincy and none other than the aggressive charismatic Tasmanian player was a better choice there. The man proved his leadership with an unbeaten run and made Australian win the world cup yet again and in the next year after Steve Waugh’s retirement he got an additional responsibility of handling the test team too. The rest all is ‘history’ as you know!
‘It is not enough if you climb a mountain, but what matters most is how you survive there’.Yes, there was an immense pressure. There were expectations rising and every single loss directly posed questions on Ponting. Yet, he was able to bear all those and make Australia the team respected by every single opponent in this world for all kind of reasons. Of course, they had a pool of talents. However, to lead a team with the captain himself being an example ‘takes the most’ out of you!
He involved himself in sledging, he fought in a pub, he misbehaved, he was arrogant, he was not ready to return to pavilion even when he knew there was an edge, he dint respect the officials, he publicly expressed emotions. But, the 2 times world cup winning leader, the highest run scorer for Australia with 25000+ runs, the greatest captain of modern times, one of the best fielder in the world, 'player of the decade' award winner and “THE BEST” one-down batsman in the cricketing history truly remain least appreciated and most criticized modern greats!
PUNTER, HATS OFF … You made the game exciting!
P.S: The post was exclusively meant for describing my views on Ponting and a comparison with any other player is very irrelevant in the context.
