Oh how we've loved this Ashes series down under. Twenty-four long years we've waited for England to succeed, for them to finally bring home the urn and let there be no doubt about it; the feeling is sweet. Over and over England fans have been subjected to thrashings from Australian sides filled with brutally brilliant world class cricketers and finally the tables have turned.
For years we've loved to hate the likes of Warne, McGrath, Langer and Hayden but finally they retired and our attention turned. We had a new hate figure, a new individual to resent and deplore and his name was Ricky Ponting. And oh how we hated him, how we booed him to the crease, how we jeered when he failed and laughed when he moaned. But this series something strange has happened, something very strange. A feeling for Ponting, and an unusual one at that, has swept the nation; sympathy. To see a brilliant cricketer embarrased in such a cruel manner is not pleasant to witness, regardless of your nationality.
See Ricky hasn't just been a world class cricketer, for that title doesn't really do him justice. Make no mistake about it, Ponting has been and still is one of the great Test batsman. Second only to Tendulkar in the highest number of Test runs scored, the Tasmanian has scored an incredible 39 Test Hundreds and averaged 53.51 in 152 matches. He's scored runs on every continent against every bowling attack put in front of him and he's been the opposition's prize wicket ever since Steve Waugh retired and will remain so until he finally calls it a day.
Watching Ponting stride out to bat is like watching a warrior go to war and his innings at Old Trafford in the 2005 Ashes series sticks out as the perfect example. Australia, in dire straits, called on their captain to perform and he didn't disappoint. Ponting strode out to bat like a man on a mission; to bat all day and save the game. As his partners fell around him Ponting battled on putting the England attack to the sword, edging his side nearer to a draw that would keep the series alive. Completely focused on the task in hand Ricky occupied the crease for nearly 6 hours and faced 275 balls for his mammoth 156. Not a soul in the ground could believe it when he was finally dismissed; the immovable had been moved. But he had succeeded, through sheer bloody-mindedness and a will unsurpassed by any modern cricketer, Ricky had achieved his goal and Australia survived.
And that is the sort of innings that Ponting should be remembered for. It wouldn't be right for his story to be recounted as one of failure, as one of an Australia captain who was the first in the modern era to lose three (most likely!) Ashes series. Ricky should, instead, be remembered for all the things we used to loathe him for. For his incredible ability, both at the crease and in the field, for his die-hard attitude and for his competitive nature. He still bears the scar given to him by Steve Harmison on that opening morning in 2005, and that typifies his character best. That scar represents the fight in Ricky Ponting, it represents his never-say-die approach and most of all it represents his desire to achieve and succeed. Ricky Ponting is a winner, don't forget it.
Lets hope this isn't the end. Lets hope that he finishes with a performance that would be fitting for his truly special career.
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