Blogs Punter is back
May 23rd, 2008 by KrisIt was a gloomy day for the tourists. Their most dependable opener Matty Hayden was injured and missed the match. They asked the out-of-sorts Jacques and Katich to open the innings. They both fell cheaply, as expected. Then came the Captain. He was under immense pressure. A few months back, he had a horrible series against India and almost all the magazines had written him off. They said his ‘weakness’ against the incoming, bouncy ball had been cracked by the bowlers and it would be easier to dismiss him.
The man started playing his innings with such fluency that people were surprised. He played his shots to the T, shuffled his feet as always, took necessary risks, and made sure he kept scoring those important singles.
His 35th test century came in just 137 balls. This, from a man who had a nightmarish series against India and was struggling to find his form. And batting on that pitch was no cake walk either. The pitch had inconsistent bounce and the ball kept low at times and it was certainly not easy to bat on. But he didn’t complain. He didn’t make any fuss. He came, he batted brilliantly for the entire day, made a terrific 158, and fell for an extraordinary piece of athleticism from a West Indian fielder.
And oh; his strike rate was over 70. Not bad for someone who’s been out of form, right?
Ponting has proven once again that he is no ordinary player. He is made of solid stuff and he belongs to an elite league of batsmen who are destined to be an important part of history.
Punter, thanks mate. You are what you are and you deserve to belong where you belong.
May 23rd, 2008 at 3:23 am
As far as test cricket goes he is not ‘back’ !!! he was always ‘there’!!! Remember he scored a century against India in the last test match. So this is actually his second consecutive century!!!
May 23rd, 2008 at 5:25 am
Yes. It’s true that this is his second century, but if you saw him jumping around against Ishant Sharma and getting caught in the slip/point area consistently, you would have thought it he was done. Now the main question is when it is all said and done, who will have the most test centuries?
May 23rd, 2008 at 5:49 am
Prabhakar, yes it’s his second consecutive century. But then, the century against India was not a comprehensive one, as he was clearly struggling. But this one was an authoritative, solid innings. So, I emphasized on that.
Prashant, I think if Ponting continues to play well for the next couple of years or more, certainly he will break Tendulkar’s record. But then, great batsmen are not remembered for their records alone. So, it doesn’t really matter who holds the record.
May 23rd, 2008 at 6:02 am
Well said. Ponting definitely is the best Test Batsman in the world at the moment (or may be it is Sanga??).