The 'In Defence Of Ricky Ponting' Thread

[Guest guest37336]

OK, before I go any further, I am one of the BIGGEST cricket fans you will ever meet. I have been to several Ashes series, etc, and appreciate what cricket means to many people, BUT.

 

This last test has shown that Turkeys were not the only ones to get a good stuffing over the festive period:

 

 

http://s1.b3ta.com/host/creative/63724/1232798231/cptpout5s.jpg

 

 

Ponting has become the target of some pretty awful press releases and utter vitriol. As I said, I am a huge cricket fan and always will be, even though I am an 'adopted' Aussie I will always cheer for England in the cricket, and would love nothing more than England retaining the Ashes with some great victories.

 

I am not and cannot defend what Ricky Ponting did last night with reference to remonstrating with the umpires, cricket is steeped in rules and regulations, and one of those rules is that the umpires word is final, to question him is just not 'done'. But pressure takes it toll on us all in different ways, we all react differently, at certain times.

 

Lets be honest, we have all acted in strange ways when 'pressure' is applied, it just so happens that we are very rarely in the glare of the worlds press.

 

What I am saying is this. That whilst Ponting as captain should rightly take some of the blame, after all as the 'boss' in any field when things go wrong we should be held accountable to what goes on, but. Ponting can only work with the resources he has at hand. The players in the current Aussie side are 'apparently' the best in Australia. It's not wholly Pontings fault if these platers do not perform on the day, it is THEIR responsibility to a certain degree.

 

But what I find really annoying is this. Ricky Ponting has served HIS country well, he at times was and hopefully will be one of the all time great players to watch. A true great in the modern day era of test cricket.

 

Some of the SAME press and SAME supporters of Ponting when things were going WELL, are now using every means at their disposal to vilify, castigate and attack him at every opportunity. Some of the press coverage has been so vitriolic that you would think Ponting was a member of the Manson family many years ago. Bloody hell, I've seen less ferocious attack made against 'real' criminals and arses.

 

I am NOT saying that Ponting doesn't deserve some of the criticism, of course he does. But what is really bugging me is that the SAME institutions and people who once hailed Ponting a great have now drawn their dagger and he must be wondering where the next stab in the back will come from.

 

Again, not saying that he doesn't deserve a certain amount of criticism, I am the first to say that if a player isn't playing well we as the general public should have our right to say what is going on. But the ONE thing that you will NEVER be able to accuse Ponting of is lack of pride in wearing HIS countries jersey. This is what drives the man on, no matter his weaknesses, Ponting has always taken great pride in wearing the jersey/colours of Australia. To accuse him of anything less, (which has been said) is tantamount to treason.

 

The man at this present time is under huge pressure, and we should be bale to highlight that at the moment he has some issues that need ironing out.

 

But the Australian press and to a lesser degree the people of Australia have let themselves down on a massive scale. Memories are short I'm afraid. Have they forgotten the times when Ponting was a true great and showed the way, I'm afraid they have. The bloke at the moment must feel if the whole of Australia is against him, and rightly so.

 

I don't feel sorry for him at all, but I do feel that the way he has been treated over recent weeks is tantamount to cruelty and bloody mindedness. People are to quick to forget what he has done in the past, and the PRIDE he has shown in wearing the colours of Australia.

 

In short, though I long for an England victory, I can't help but feel the press of Australia, and some of the people of Australia have shown their true colours. They should be ashamed of themselves on so many levels.

 

Of course I want England to win, but not at the expense of one mans sanity. Ricky, if you ever get to read this, (which you won't,:biglaugh:) though I would love you too lose this Ashes series I remember the so called good old days when I would watch you play cricket, and you indeed had no competitors. You were at times second to none, and it was a pleasure to see you.

 

It's such a shame that this fella has become the 'whipping boy' of a nation because he is at the moment on a massive losing streak. Certain sectors of Australian society should be ashamed for the way they have acted, and I for one will not forget them.

 

Cheers Tony.:wink:

[Guest The Ropey HOFF]

Sorry tony i can't read all of what you have written, i am going out on new years eve.

 

Ricky Ponting - one of the all time greats of cricket, a brilliant tactician with grit and determination, but he is now captain of an average Australian side and the pressure is effecting his form.

[Toolbox]

He can't help it:no: he's got SMS:chatterbox:, there is no cure, we should feel sorry for him really:rolleyes:

 

 

 

small man syndrome

 

Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary

 

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[edit] English

 

[edit] Noun

 

small man syndrome

 

1. (colloquial) Humorous or supposed condition affecting short men which makes them excessively competitive as a way of compensating for their lack of stature.
   

 

[Toolbox]

Sorry tony i can't read all of what you have written, i am going out on new years eve

 

 

:biglaugh::biglaugh::biglaugh: sarky git, good job tony knows what your like:wink:

[Guest Andy]

Good thread Tony, i dont agree however as i think he has bought much of his pain on himself. The incident last night was a shameful display of bad sportsmanship and he should/would have known that Pietersen was not out but he was just desperate and made himself look a fool. Like you i have admired Ponting for a long time and with an average of 50 odd will for sure be seen as a great batsman. Ponting,s form has deserted him of late and that is due to the pressure of him being captain which he should have relinquished and passed over to Clarke, or that decision should have been made for him. For Australia to have won/win the ashes they needed Ponting at his best and that has just not happened and it looks like that decision among many other bizarre ones for the aussies will cost them dear.

[Bobj]

Punter should do a "Guy-the-gorilla-act", quit the captaincy and concentrate on his batting skills.

 

Cheers, Bobj.

[Guest SDJ&A]

Got no sympathy for Ponting I'm afraid.

 

Argueing with the umpires? Every school boy/ young cricketer should know that you don't do that. Where does that get you? Is the umpire going to say ' oh yes, I see that you are correct and I am wrong, so yes I'll give him out?'.

Ponting does have a bit of form with this kind of thing, not the first time as captain of his country that he has been fined some of his match fee or had his wrist slapped.

Off the top of my head I seem to recall another incident with Alim Dar a year or two ago, going on a bender and being involved in a fight(was along time ago that one) and when he was ran out by Gary Pratt in England in 2005. Think there's a couple more.

 

The real interesting thing about it for me was that no one came and tried to calm him down/get him away from the umpire. Saw that Clarke was stood not far away from Ponting yet did nothing to assist his captain. Just stood there with his arms crossed, watching. As vice Clarke, you would think, would be well placed to distract his captain away and defuse the situation.

Does that mean that he his detached from his team and other players are just waiting for him to retire so the team can move on?

 

As a batsman I think that Ponting is the best I have seen.

Tendulker and Lara are the other 2 fine batsmen of the last 20 years or so, but what made Ponting for me was that he scored runs in every situation against all attacks but most of all when his team needed them. At the loss of an early wicket or in the second innings when his team was behind in the game he produced the runs. He didn't just get them against a poor attack or on flat tracks but often at difficult times against good bowlers on pitches not always really good to bat on.

It's a shame that he could end his career soon after a poor couple of years for him with the bat.

With hindsite he may wish he had dropped down to 5 in the order. Away from the new ball which he has increasingly been exposed to. Others have done it, both Tendulker and Lara with Viv Richards, Kallis,Gooch, all did it and still scored runs.

 

Maybe being the last one from a great team still playing makes him think that he should still be doing it exactly the same way as when he was younger.

[Parley]

I like Ponting and some say he is the best batsman since Bradman.

 

He is about 36 now though I think and is clearly past his best.

He should probably retire soon, perhaps after the Sydney test.

 

It is not his fault he hasn't had the fantastic Aussie teams to captain that his predecessors did.

But he is a great player. No question.

[Guest chris955]

Only an Aussie would call him the best batsman since Bradman, he has some way to be up with Sachin Tendulkar for one.

I have never liked him as a person, too arrogant and has too many hissy fits. He was OK as a captain when they were on top but not now there are 4 or 5 better teams out there. As for his petulance yesterday I would have fined him double.

[whopperdaisy]

Ponting has not made himself very easy to like and he hasn't helped himself get some of those lucrative post-retirement gigs after this week's antics. Some of the Australian players had the grace to look embarrassed by his spat with the umpire. He has been a good player but I would not put him up there with the greats like Bradman either. Maybe part of the problem was that he was built up rather too much, out of proportion even, during the good times. Brits don't always deal kindly with their fallen heroes but probably even harsher here, especially after Australians are so used to their team seeming almost infallible until recently.

[Guest sh7t man no way]

surley mr pontin as the captain of the australian cricket team is not only there to represent the national cricket team but the spirit of a nation which i am lead to believe is one of fair play,and take it on the chin,learn from this,and move on--surley his actions on the cricket picth do not represent the australian people now (child like/bullying/spitting the dummy out of the pram--if so this is a sad eposode in the history of australa,and a slap in the face for that once proud nation:no:i for one have sadly had my views changed about that supposedly once proud sporting nation:shocked:just what lessons the young people of australia got from this beggars belief:no:a sad day indeed sir

[olly]

Ponting should have shut up yesterday, just get on with it, what an embarrassment for our country. Come 'ere and get a whack Ponting:mad:

[Parley]

Agree Ponting should have shut up earlier.

Mind you I don't think the Aussie cricketers have ever been particularly good sports.

They had a reputation as terrible sledgers for many years.