Bill Ponsford was something special. Of all the batsmen to score 10,000 or more first class runs, only Don Bradman (95.14) and Vijay Merchant (72.74) had batting averages superior to Ponsford's 65.18
In the 1926/27 and 27/28 seasons domestic seasons he scored 1,229 @ 122.90 and 1,217 @ 152.12 respectively. During those seasons he scored centuries in 10 consecutive matches.
His test batting average 2,122 @ 48.22 ranks him highly among Australian test openers. He received a battering in the 'Bodyline' series and was dropped twice despite a courageous 85 in the acrimonious 3rd Test in Adelaide. However, his final Ashes series, in England in 1934, saw him score 569 runs @ 94.83
"Ponny" retired prematurely at the age of 34 saying, "I am feeling the strain of the last tour. I am thirty four and when you get to that age you start to lose your keenness. ... Test cricket has become too serious. It is not a game anymore but a battle ... I can remember when it was all quite different to what it is now. I do not want to refer to that "bodyline" business—I am out of all that. Cricket was a different game before bodyline. Naturally I have a tinge of regret ... but it is better to go out of cricket before being dropped."
Arthur Mailey suspected that Ponsford's sensitivity to criticism, especially from the media, was a key factor behind the early retirement.