Roebuck says Ponting is finished

[The Outsider]

Well not quite, just felt like giving a TOI masala headline. And Boss and patriot would be pleased to know, for different reasons, that he has slipped to 20 in the ICC rankings and below 700 points :winky: http://www.reliancemobileiccrankings.com/ranking/test/batting/ Nice read on his technical drawbacks of late, nonetheless. http://www.smh.com.au/sport/cricket/punter-must-rethink-his-approach-or-he-could-find-himself-on-the-back-foot-20100107-lwy8.html

Ricky Ponting needs to review his batting, especially the back-foot game that has been getting him out. A strength can so easily become a weakness. Opponents used to avoid dropping anything short to the Tasmanian. It was like feeding fish to a shark. Now they focus on his back-foot game. It is simply all the more reason for Australia's greatest batsmen of the last decade to reconsider his response. No shame lies in an experienced batsman changing his ways. Indeed it is folly to act otherwise. Brian Lara shortened his backlift as the years passed, thereby reducing a little of his brilliance but giving himself more time to move into position and execute his shots. Sachin Tendulkar reduced his range of shots as his wits began to slow. They have been the primary batting geniuses of the past 20 years. In particular, Ponting could forget about hooking until he has established himself at the crease. On several occasions, he has lifted the ball straight into the hands of the man placed at deep square leg. On other occasions, he has tried to check the shot and ended up spooning a soft catch. Evidently, he is no longer in command of a shot that was once his favourite. All the more reason to put it in the cupboard. As the years pass, batsmen lose sharpness but gather wisdom. Moreover, players of Ponting's calibre are rare, and their wickets are not to be wasted. It is as plain as day that Ponting has been having problems against high-speed bowling. Ishant Sharma unsettled him on India's last visit. More recently, Kemar Roach's extreme pace troubled him, and forced him to retire hurt for the first time in his career. Mohammad Aamer's sizzlers disconcerted him in Melbourne. Before that, he was clocked on the cheek at Lord's in the 2005 Ashes series. It was a nasty blow, and in some opinions he has not subsequently watched lifters as closely . Ponting has tried to prepare himself for the extra pace by turning the bowling machines to full power. So far, it has not worked. No surprise need be felt about these developments. It is the passage of time. Naturally, Ponting will be loath to abandon a stroke that has served him well. From his first appearances, he has been able to rock back and clout anything short. His defiance of the rampant West Indians in his formative years as a Test batsman lingers in the memory and helped to convince colleagues that they could be beaten. Teammates have been ducking and weaving. Ponting saw rank long hops where they had been seeing rearing lifters. It was his shot. It is also a very Australian stroke, telling of sunshine and even bounce and the confidence of youth. Most of the great Australian batsmen have been superb hookers and pullers. The hook informs pacemen that fire will be met with fire. Of all the shots in the repertoire, the pull is the most intimidating because it denies the bowlers any room for error. Ponting has been a magnificent back-foot player. Nothing, though, lasts for ever, including reflexes. Significantly, Ponting has dropped more slip catches in the past two years than in his previous career. Arguably, he has been the best all-round fieldsman the game has known. He is quick across the ground, has a strong and accurate throw and pounces upon trifles at silly point. But his efficiency at second slip has been his greatest strength. Now, though, chances previously pocketed are starting to elude him. It takes only a fraction to turn a catch into a spill, a middled stroke into an inside edge. Admittedly, there is a precedent for a batsman refusing to change his ways. Not long after his appointment as captain, Ian Chappell endured a spell of hooking the ball straight to long leg. Indeed, it happened so often that a previously silent grandmother called him and told him to eliminate the shot. Ignoring even his elderly relation, Chappell kept hooking, and lived to tell the tale. But, then, he was a younger man. And he gave the game away as soon as he sensed he could no longer play the shot to his satisfaction. In many respects, Ponting has the same attitude to batting and bouncers but he wants to keep playing, and so needs to make the necessary adjustments. He has nothing to prove as far as wielding the willow is concerned. Cutting out an aggressive shot does not involve waving a white flag. Virender Sehwag is widely regarded as a daring opener. He is among the handful of great batsmen currently running around. Yet he does not hook, preferring to flick the ball into gaps. No one considers him timid or vulnerable. He played the shot only once on India's last tour, and spooned the ball to mid-wicket. By then he had scored 200, and presumably considered his job done. Tendulkar does not bother with the stroke except in times of his choosing. Apart from rethinking his response to lifters, the Australia captain also needs to give himself more opportunity to settle. As the years passed, Lara bided his time at the crease, often allowing 20 balls or 30 minutes to pass before he issued his challenge. In the past, balance has been the key to his batting. Nowadays, his balance is perfect but he tends to reach for the ball early in his innings. He can still play. His innings in a lost cause at The Oval a few months ago was an expression of exceptional skill and determination. Time, though, has a power no man can resist. All the evidence suggests Ponting needs to take stock. The alternative is worse.

[Guest BossBhai]

-- Removed on request of the user --

[coffee_rules]

Ponting at 20, Boss at 13 and Wall at 12. Time for him to retire.

[sangrock]

I like the article - it states the obvious. Lack of maturity/arrogance from the aussie kaptan.

[Mamu]

Lot of people -- especially insane Aussies always quote his captaincy record. 1) He inherited the captaincy from Waugh -- who had a smooth -- well oiled machine running -- that Ponting took over. 2) Even a donkey could have led a team of lions -- comprising Warne, McGrath, Hayden, Gilly etc and those folks could win for your team from any position. It really did not require a Ponting. 3) When this Ponting is asked to a lead a bunch of donkeys -- he is struggling to find a foot hold. Thanks to the Pakis he is leading this series 2 - 0 -- a series he should have been down 0 - 2. Ofcourse age has also caught up with him.

[patriot]

Ponting has lost his mojo. It was really quite uncharacteristic for Ponting to fall in single figures in the last game , 2nd innings, when Australia had their backs to the wall. His batting is simliar to SRT's during the latters, poor seasons ( 2003,2005, 2006). Let's see if Pwnting can deliver a final knockout punch like SRT.

[The Outsider]

Ponting has lost his mojo. It was really quite uncharacteristic for Ponting to fall in single figures in the last game , 2nd innings, when Australia had their backs to the wall.

Can you check when was the last time Ponting scored a hundred in the second innings of a test or how many second innings hundreds he has in his career?:winky:

[patriot]

Can you check when was the last time Ponting scored a hundred in the second innings of a test or how many second innings hundreds he has in his career?:winky:

Umm... run scoring is not all about achieving 3 figures. He is one of the great counter attacking batsman under pressure. Most, just play meekly. :winky: Dhondy's statistical piece ( archived at ICF) testifys that- something that you too sheepishly acknowledged.

[Dhondy]

ICFers are such opportunists!:hysterical:

[veer]

Its not 'australian way' to hang around when you are down.. he is either gonna do something abt it.. or he is gonna announce retirement..

[Guest Hiten.]

Its not 'australian way' to hang around when you are down.. he is either gonna do something abt it.. or he is gonna announce retirement..

Ever heard about the tale of a giant called Matthew Hayden ?

[graphic23]

Ever heard about the tale of a giant called Matthew Hayden ?

Ssh. Only people like Anil Kumble, Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman hang around when its clearly time for them to retire.

[Tapioca]

I like the way he uses his words :

Australia's greatest batsmen of the last decade

the primary batting geniuses of the past 20 years.

[I_India]

Pointing was finished the day he was born with such a beautiful face LOL :punter: A face only a mum would like :haha::potstir:

[Gambit]

He has done enough to be one of the leading contenders for Cricinfo's Player of the Decade title, but Ricky Ponting himself will admit that over the last three years he has been significantly less than prolific. During a period in which batsmen have generally made merry, Ponting has scored only five hundreds in his last 32 Test matches - a rate of one every 6.4 matches - while the average has dropped to a distinctly ordinary 41.44. Contrast this with his stats in the first seven years of the decade - an average of 65.73, and a rate of a hundred every 2.81 Tests over 76 matches. Due to this relative slump, Ponting's overall average has dropped around five points during this period. The peak point (in terms of end-of-match average) came after the second Test of the Ashes series in 2006, when he made 142 and 49 to boost his career average to 59.99. One more run would have lifted his average to 60, but he never reached that high thereafter, and over his next 34 matches it has fallen to 54.79. Ponting is far from finished as a top-class batsman, but it's unlikely his average will ever reach those peaks again. With a cut-off of 1500 runs in the last three years, Ponting's average puts him in 27th place, a huge fall from the days when he dominated the charts. Among those who have higher averages than his 41.44 are Daniel Vettori (44.97), Alastair Cook (42.47) and Ross Taylor (42.15).

http://www.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/442971.html He truly is LORDing over the rest. :winky:

[Anakin]

I think just some good bowling happened to him

[Sachinism]

I think just some good bowling happened to him

or people realised he isn't all that and has many flaws and they're being exposed. Also the loss of some friendly umpires and some crap fielders and bowlers, who've let him off the hook too often

[champ]

i dont think so ponting is finsihed .. i want him to play and play well .. but i would want to say all SRT bashers this is the outcome of playing with a average team .. u feel pressure and u crumble .. so lets hail sachin , the little master

[Anakin]

i dont think so ponting is finsihed .. i want him to play and play well .. but i would want to say all SRT bashers this is the outcome of playing with a average team .. u feel pressure and u crumble .. so lets hail sachin ' date=' the little master [/quote'] :punter: doesn't crumble under pressure, unlike SRT

[Anakin]

or people realised he isn't all that and has many flaws and they're being exposed. Also the loss of some friendly umpires and some crap fielders and bowlers' date=' who've let him off the hook too often[/quote'] Buck signal anyone?