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Ponting beginning to implode
By Will last year, mid-July Add your comment below
I know he was unfortunate to be dismissed today – even if he didn’t edge it, he was lbw – but Ricky Ponting strikes me as a man almost too determined for his own good.
He said at the start of this tour that he was more motivated than ever before, not less. And I’m sure that’s probably true. But there are numerous incidents already in this series where his fiery determination to conquer is beginning to affect his focus.
In the game at Worcester, shortly before the end of the drawn match, he was getting chirpy with the pair at the wicket. When a decision was turned down, he remonstrated with the umpire – who, without any coincidence, then fainted and had a funny turn. Ponting leads by example with the bat, but he is not a role model in the field.
After Cardiff, he let the media get on top of him, hook line and sinker. The 12th man debate was like a bomb waiting to explode in his head, and off it went. When your spinner, and a softly spoken one at that, firmly disagrees with your stance on the opposition’s tactics (Hauritz said Australia, and any other team, would’ve attempted delaying tactics), you need to take a deep breath and distance yourself from the situation. Hauritz acted with greater professionalism than his captain.
Duncan Fletcher, England’s former coach, then waded in on the debate in a newspaper column. That too sparked Ponting into life when he should’ve kept his mouth shtum and sucked it up. Get over it. It’s happened, it’s in the past. But instead, Ponting was riled and let Fletcher, and the media, get under his skin.
None of this may affect the overall series result, and Ponting is clearly a natural leader, but his natural fire and propensity to let emotion overrule his brain is an odd trait for a player so experienced, a man now well into his thirties.
And, yes, he could bat for three days to save this Test for Australia, but there’s a big difference between leadership and captaincy.
Tags: 2009-Ashes, ashes, ricky-ponting, the-ashes |
9 Responses to “Ponting beginning to implode”
July 17th, 2009 at 10.39 pm
July 18th, 2009 at 8.26 am
Wasn’t Russell Crowe cool in commentary? Great voice, astute comments. Made Warnie looked a little fake-tanned and bantam-ish, by comparison… And best of all, he corrected Warne, that he wasn’t Australian, he was actually a Kiwi! Cousin, of course, to Martin and Jeff…
July 18th, 2009 at 8.42 am
Punter is a joke as a leader. He’s hardly had to think tactically during most of his captaincy stint, having had the priceless trump cards of Warne and McGrath to call on, and several senior players around him.
Now he’s the senior man, still an outstanding batsman, but he’s never grown up, never progressed as a tactician or as a leader. His constant questioning of the umpires betrays his fundamental flaw, just like a toddler that cries every time reality differs from their own expectations.
It’s a weakness in him, and it is fair game to exploit it.
July 18th, 2009 at 9.02 am
He obviously is not helping the less experienced players cope with this. Johnson is looking more like a club hack with each innings and Phil Hughes is looking frightened when he comes out to bat.
If he behaves like an idiot under pressure, it is not going to help this team and especially the bowling attack one little bit.
July 18th, 2009 at 9.15 am
Chris
You might be interested to know that since Warne and McGrath retired, Ponting’s led in 23 Tests and won just 11 of them, which just shows how much he relied on them.
July 18th, 2009 at 1.21 pm
Lou: When Johnson and Hughes have been playing well, Ponting does not get the credit. But when they are playing crap, somehow its Ponting’s fault.
Marcus: Gee, Ponting’s win/loss ratio has dropped since losing McGrath and Warne (and Hayden and Langer and Gilchrist). What a surprise!
Will: I’m not sure that the ‘implode’ headline is quite on the mark. But just about everything else in your comment is spot on. Ponting does lose it too often. And Strauss and even Fletcher are quite happy to sit back and stoke the fires of his rage.
July 18th, 2009 at 2.05 pm
I’m not sure Ponting can be blamed for the bad form of Johnson and Hughes, but I think in general when the opposition gets on top of Australia he gets too defensive with his field settings. Even in this Test, he put in a deep point for Hauritz as soon as he came on to bowl in the first innings, and in the second one he wouldn’t even give him a short leg! So you’re right Sprycorpse, it isn’t a surprise that his win-loss ratio has decreased because I think he’s a pretty average captain!
July 18th, 2009 at 2.39 pm
SpryCorpse, he certainly did take the credit and got the credit from the press. You obviously didn’t hear his speech in South Africa. I don’t blame him one bit for taking it either, it was a huge win in the circumstances.
I don’t think the win-loss ratio is down to his captaincy though. How can it be? If you don’t have the players, you don’t have the players.
However, his onfield behaviour is not going to help any of the struggling ones to cope.
July 18th, 2009 at 2.41 pm
What I mean is watching the captain lose their rag won’t help anyone in the team.
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