All posts tagged: Ponting

Ricky Ponting hails India’s call to back Sanju Samson in T20 World Cup return

Ricky Ponting hails India’s call to back Sanju Samson in T20 World Cup return

Published by Webster

3 min readMar 16, 2026 08:00 PM IST Legendary Australia captain Ricky Ponting hailed India’s decision to reinstate Sanju Samson mid-way through the T20 World Cup as a pivotal decision which eventually proved to be a game-changer for the hosts. After struggling to gain quick starts with a left-hand heavy top-order and the indifferent form of Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma early in the World Cup, India brought back a woefully out-of-form Samson back for the near knockout games in the Super 8 stage. In a virtual quarterfinal clash against West Indies in Kolkata, Samson crunched an unbeaten 97 to power India’s 196-run chase. He then backed it up with identical knocks of 89 in the semi-final and final against England and New Zealand, respectively. ‘A major call’ “It was actually a big call to make – moving Ishan Kishan down the order to bring Sanju Samson back to the top. That’s a major decision, but one that worked out really well in the end,” Ponting told the ICC. “As a player – and I’m …

Ricky Ponting on Suryakumar Yadav’s captaincy at the ICC T20 World Cup

Ricky Ponting on Suryakumar Yadav’s captaincy at the ICC T20 World Cup

Published by Webster

2 min readUpdated: Mar 14, 2026 10:02 PM IST Former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting spoke about the leadership qualities that India captain Suryakumar Yadav displayed in his first ever ICC T20 World Cup leading the Indian team and said that SKY struggled as a batter but was still clinical as a captain. Yadav scored a combined 158 in eight innings at a home World Cup in his favoured format. His best came in a game-saving knock of 84, made from 49 balls, against the USA. Ponting said that a lot of captaincy was off the field, in instances that people don’t get to witness. “It’s about a lot more about what they do off the field, the things that people don’t see and how they interact with their players,” Ponting said, on The ICC Review. “He didn’t have a great time himself as a player, but still he’s standing at the end holding up a World Cup trophy. I know as a former captain, when you’re not batting at your absolute best, captaincy can become …

Ricky Ponting, Ravi Shastri want vice-captain Axar Patel recalled in XI to save India’s T20 World Cup | Cricket News

Ricky Ponting, Ravi Shastri want vice-captain Axar Patel recalled in XI to save India’s T20 World Cup | Cricket News

Published by Webster

3 min readFeb 25, 2026 12:06 PM IST Former India coach Ravi Shastri and ex-Australia captain Ricky Ponting have made the case for the Indian team think tank to bring back vice captain Axar Patel in the XI for the Super 8 game against Zimbabwe in the T20 World Cup. Axar was dropped in favour of Washington Sundar in their first Super 8 clash with South Africa, where the Men in Blue were thumped by 76 runs by the Proteas. Shastri believes that the defeat will get India to “rethink their strategy about the composition of the side”. Australian cricket legend Ponting agreed. “Listening to the commentary (for the India vs South Africa game), the reason Axar didn’t play is because of the left handers in the opposition side. But there’s still some right handers there. It just comes down to the art of the captain of being able to use Axar at the right time,” Ponting said on the latest episode of The ICC Review. The Aussie urged India to “go back to basics” …

‘It’s been a really poor campaign, it has to be…’ : Ricky Ponting on Australia’s disastrous T20 World Cup campaign | Cricket News

‘It’s been a really poor campaign, it has to be…’ : Ricky Ponting on Australia’s disastrous T20 World Cup campaign | Cricket News

Published by Webster

6 min readFeb 18, 2026 04:13 PM IST With 2021 World Champions Australia being knocked out form the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup, it has meant that the Travis Head led side will be returning home post the group stages of the tournament. With pacer Pat Cummins ruled out of the Australian team prior to the tournament and Josh Hazelwood too ruled out of the team, the Australian team lead began with a win over Ireland but then lost to Zimbabwe and co-hosts Sri Lanka in the group stage. Former Australian captain Rickey Ponting has termed Australia’s campaign in the T20 World Cup as a ‘poor’ campaign and shared how teams like Australia cannot afford losses against teams like Zimbabwe in the World Cups. “It’s been a really poor campaign, it has to be said. They had some injury concerns at the start with (Josh) Hazlewood and (Pat) Cummins being ruled out and then Tim David not available right at the start as well. But I think just losing to Zimbabwe like they did, that’s …

‘Babar Azam’s lost his power’: Ricky Ponting explains why Pakistan must consider bringing star batter up at No 3 position rather than No 4 | Cricket News

‘Babar Azam’s lost his power’: Ricky Ponting explains why Pakistan must consider bringing star batter up at No 3 position rather than No 4 | Cricket News

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3 min readFeb 9, 2026 12:15 PM IST Has Pakistan cricket team talisman Babar Azam lost a bit of his power? Australian cricket legend Ricky Ponting certainly thinks so! Babar Azam’s form, his position in the batting order and even his spot in the XI is under scrutiny after his 18-ball 15-run innings in Pakistan’s T20 World Cup opener against the Netherlands where Pakistan won with three balls to spare and with just three wickets in hand. “It just to me looks like he’s lost a bit of his power, his ball striking ability, like taking on that spinner on the way he did and not being able to even go close to clearing it,” Ponting said in a conversation with Ravi Shastri and Sanjana Ganesan on the latest episode of The ICC Review. “If you’re 15 off 18 balls, you’re not just putting pressure on yourself, you’re putting pressure on the guy at the other end,” Ponting continued. “The guy at the other end knows that he’s got to be the one to take …

STATS: Joe Root narrows gap with Sachin Tendulkar to under 2000 runs, equals Ricky Ponting with 41st Test century in Sydney | Cricket News

STATS: Joe Root narrows gap with Sachin Tendulkar to under 2000 runs, equals Ricky Ponting with 41st Test century in Sydney | Cricket News

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Joe Root has finally notched up a red-ball hundred in Australia, ending over a decade-long wait for a century in Test cricket’s oldest version during the fifth Ashes 2025-26 Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Monday. Resuming from his overnight score of 72, Root nonchalantly cantered to his 41st Test century in only 146 deliveries on day two morning, marking his second century of the tour Down Under after having notched up his maiden Test ton in the country in the Pink-Ball Test at the Gabba last month. The 34-year-old had never reached the three-figure mark in 14 Test matches held in Australia before the current series. Root equals Ponting Joe Root brings up his second Test century in Australia 👏#Ashes | #PlayoftheDay | @nrmainsurance pic.twitter.com/bXwBXY7nw0 — cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) January 5, 2026 The Englishman marked the first international Test ton of 2026, a milestone that saw him draw level with Australia legend Ricky Ponting at 41 Test centuries, the third-most in the format, only behind Sachin Tendulkar (51) and Jacques Kallis (45). Root also …

Ricky Ponting on India dropping Shubman Gill from T20 World Cup squad: ‘I couldn’t believe that…’ | Cricket News

Ricky Ponting on India dropping Shubman Gill from T20 World Cup squad: ‘I couldn’t believe that…’ | Cricket News

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Shubman Gill piled on runs in the series against England in the red-ball series, and for the Asia Cup, later he returned to the T20I side and was made the vice-captain. Since returning to the side, Gill could not manage to get a half-century in the format and was axed from the T20 World Cup side as a result. Former Australian cricketer Ricky Ponting said that he could not believe that Gill was dropped from the T20I squad. “I couldn’t believe that. I mean, I know his recent form hasn’t been great in white-ball cricket. The last time that I really saw much of him play was the Test series against England in the UK, where he batted as well as I’ve ever seen anybody bat. I think, one, I’m surprised, but two, it just shows the depth of Indian cricket,” Ponting said on ICC Review. “If you can think that someone as good as Shubman Gill doesn’t get picked in a World Cup squad, then it goes to show how many good players they …

‘He doesn’t need to do some of the stuff that he’s doing’: Ricky Ponting on Harry Brook | Cricket News

‘He doesn’t need to do some of the stuff that he’s doing’: Ricky Ponting on Harry Brook | Cricket News

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With England’s Harry Brook managing just a half century in the 6 innings he has played thus far in the Ashes, Australian legend Ricky Ponting advised the batter to adjust the way he plays Down Under or risk the prospect of more frustrating performances. “Look, I love Harry Brook. He’s one of the best players in the world to watch, but I think with some of his dismissals, he’s almost selling himself a bit short on how good he is. He doesn’t need to do some of the stuff that he’s doing. And I guess, I’m sure it’s going to be frustrating for an English fan as well, or even some of his teammates. You know, he’s had a chance to sit back and watch Joe Root go about his cricket for the last 15 years. And to be fair, and this is no knock on Joe Root,” Ponting said on the latest episode of The ICC Review. “Harry Brook’s got every bit as much talent as Joe Root has. You see him trying to …

‘Worst batting I’ve ever seen’: Ricky Ponting tears into Harry Brook as The Ashes slip away from England again | Cricket News

‘Worst batting I’ve ever seen’: Ricky Ponting tears into Harry Brook as The Ashes slip away from England again | Cricket News

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England haven’t been able to get their hands on the Ashes for over a decade and the way things went on Day 4 of the third Test, it looks like that wait isn’t going to end any time soon. England finished the day tottering on 207/6, still needing 228 runs to pull off a miracle win and keep the Ashes alive and Harry Brook’s approach somewhat encapsulated their rather perplexing compulsion to burst into attack despite being so far behind in the Test. Brook had said before the match that he will be pocketing some of his more aggressive strokes and seemed to be doing that pretty well for much of his innings. That is until he suddenly attempted a lofted paddle shot and fell off balance against a full delivery on the stumps from pacer Scott Boland. Brook had moved a long way across the stumps and, luckily for him, it ended up taking the inside edge of the bat and rolled away harmlessly for him to take a single. Former Australia captain Ricky …

‘I wished I was out there’: Ricky Ponting on Steve Smith-Jofra Archer face-off in 2nd Ashes Test | Cricket News

‘I wished I was out there’: Ricky Ponting on Steve Smith-Jofra Archer face-off in 2nd Ashes Test | Cricket News

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Jofra Archer’s little verbal battle with Steve Smith provided some entertainment in what was largely a formality of a fourth innings of the second Ashes Test in Brisbane, with Australia needing to chase down just 65 runs to win the match. Smith had turned to T20 mode, taking Australia over the line by blasting 23 runs in nine balls and while he replied to Archer’s jibes with some words of his own, former captain Ricky Ponting also had a few sledges up his sleeve for the England fast bowler from the commentary box. Ponting noted that it was interesting how Archer had come alive only at that stage of the match, when the game was well put England’s grasps. The Australian great has since said that the period was one of few in his career as a commentator in which he was out there with bat in hand. “Smithy said ‘champion’, and then that’s just what came out of my mouth … it got me going, and got the hairs on the back of my …