Ponting's one-time mentor Marsh said the 28-year-old could be one of the all-time greats of the game. "He can go as far as he wants to go because he has got the talent," said Marsh. "Sometimes very specially talented cricketers never reach their full potential, but what they do is often good enough to make them outstanding players. At his best, if he did reach his full potential, there is no reason why he couldn't be like Bradman or Tendulkar and those sorts of people. He's probably very close to doing that. I always have the feeling that he has more left in him. I hope that for the fans' sake and the sake of the game, he lets it come out." In the last 12 months, Ponting scored 1282 runs at an average of 80.13 in 11 Tests.
He led Australia to a successful defence of the World Cup despite the Shane Warne doping scandal and scored 1085 runs in limited-overs internationals, including a breathtaking 140 not out in the World Cup final win over India.
Wisden Australia noted how Ponting had matured since the Kings Cross nightclub incident in Sydney four years ago. Ponting told Wisden he is in the best form of his career and is in the happiest period of his life, thanks to his marriage last year to Rianna. "I've developed a lot as a person and a cricketer since the day of my wedding to Rianna," he said. "I now have respect for myself, the game of cricket and all the people around me, team-mates included." Ponting received the Wisden Australia Cricketer award of the year at a function in Brisbane while Test opener Matthew Hayden was honoured for being one of Wisden's five Cricketers of the Year.
Comments
SHARE