Ricky Ponting announces retirement, official

[Number]

:(( One of the greatest batsmen of all time, fierce competitor and a great fielder. Congrats on a great career. :hatsoff:

[Rohit S. Ambani]

ATG batsmen, great in all conditions except sub-continent. So what, every ATG has some weakness. He was a thorn in the flesh in my wins against India. Won 2 WCs, one all by himself. Never forget his bashing of ZC, Srinath and Nehra on that fateful day.

He absolutely thrashed Pakii's, no matter where he played! Against India overall he was average but hurted India where it hurts most, Kinda Tendulkar vs Pakistan in this regard!

[The Outsider]

A bit overrated by some people, but a really really good batsman nonetheless. Was the best batsman in the world for a 4-5 year period which is not a mean achievement. Was a fierce competitor, but overstepped the line at Sydney '08 which would be regarded as a blot on his career. Came across as a much better personality once the Australian team came down to the ranks, his batting form slipped away, and when he gave up captaincy. Interestingly, will end his career with exactly the same number of test matches to his name as S Waugh.

[Shunya]

:hatsoff: to the only man to be part of 100 test wins... legend...will miss his pull shot...best ever

[coffee_rules]

^ He did well in SL

He absolutely thrashed Pakii's' date=' no matter where he played! Against India overall he was average but hurted India where it hurts most, Kinda Tendulkar vs Pakistan in this regard![/quote'] Yes, I should say only on Indian pitches. But still got a series win in 2004 (even though it was Gilly winning 2 tests, he lost the one in Mumbai). Final frontier et all, he got a 100 in ;08 I think. Hated him when he played India. Not so much against others. He was great in the 2000s, while Tendulkar had a similar run in the late 90s.

[SLICKR392]

[Jersey #10]

The only one to really get close to Sachin's records...A great one indeed A champion player

[ravishingravi]

Ponting retirement announcement jw1Ddrr5UDQ

[Trichromatic]

The only one to really get close to Sachin's records...A great one indeed A champion player

Kallis.

[maniac]

Fierce competitior....didn't care a lot for Spirit of Cricket though....one of the greatest bats of his generation :hatsoff:

[JaFanatic]

one of the greatest players of test cricket:hatsoff:

[VRV Singh]

He is one of those instantly recognisable when batting (the leave, the pull shot). Had an amazing run through the noughties. Always quite sad when a stalwart calls it quits because of the familiarity, but it was due. Overstepped the limit on quite a few occasions and generally not the most tasteful character on-field. Not to say what he is like off it. But he had an undeniable commitment and competitive edge. Hats off. As a captain I guess he will have some good stats looking back but the three Ashes losses is a real downer. In full flow it was definitely great watching him bat. Hats off to Team India for their charity in the last series :icflove:

[Tendulkar_Bhai]

Fans like you are reason why some people want Tendulkar to fail each time he comes to bat' date= same for other player's fanatics. How many such average players India has produced? We are still miles behind Aus & WI when it comes to overall tally of cricketing legends, at best we can compete with South Africa, slightly managed to leave England behind with FAB 5 we have had in 2000s.

I dont see why that is relevant to my comment, Tendulkar has dominated v every bowler, every ground, every country, Ponting failed miserably every time in INdia and against Bhaji of all people. He was clueless to the stock off spin delivery and when it would straighten out he would be plumb everytime, this is not the sign of a great and doesnt need to be compared to Tendulkar. i agree we are behind overall compared to Australia when it comes to producing legends, but it is quality not quantity.

[Crookbond]

[Crookbond]

I think this thread should be used to discuss Ponting's retirement and not Ponting vs Tendulkar or XYZ.

[Number]

Ponting is the most successful cricketer ever. If you ask any young player say Kohli about achievements 3 world cups, 2 as a captain, best batsman of the decade, 100+ test victories, 13000+ runs in both the formats and epic odi knock in the finals, I am sure he will have them over any other records.

[Rohit S. Ambani]

Following picture gives me goosebumps, what more can once achieve?

[vvvslaxman]

I watched his debut match live. I rated Blewett above him. Blewett disappeared into oblivion.

[the don]

The best batsman of his generation alongwith brian charles lara and jacquess henry kallis , one of the biggest matchwinner the game has seen , shoaib akhtar despite getting the better of him on quite a few occasions regards him as the best he bowled to alongside lara , when on song he could absolutely destroy the fastest of bowlers around , a fierce competitor who always played positive cricket with nothing but victory in mind , always put team ahead of self . Take a bow punter :hatsoff:

[Rohit S. Ambani]