The problem with any examples is that you might disagree .Such as?
Yeah I agree with that. The reason Steve Waugh doesnt crop up is because of aesthetics.. His greatest strength was his courage and fighting ability and these are hardly qualities that are reflected in a shot or averages.The problem with any examples is that you might disagree .
Ponting's a perfectly good example. Compare him with, say, Steve Waugh, and there's very little by way of an objective measure to suggest that Ponting's a league above Waugh other than a slightly higher career average (heavily qualified by all of the era-specific differences that inevitably crop up in every CC comparison). Waugh's name usually doesn't even come up when discussing great modern batsmen. It's not because he didn't do it against the best, or because he didn't do it under pressure (lol), and he scored pretty much as heavily as anyone else of his time. I propose that this is largely because of aesthetics.
Yepp I said this before in another topic. He is not playing it as well as he used to. I think its due to age. Your reflexes get slower.On Ponting, hasn't he been getting out a lot to the pull shot in recent times? Even in the recent innings of 60 odd against Pakistan in Headingley, he hit one almost straight to the guy at deep square leg early on.
I think they are reflected in his average tbf .Yeah I agree with that. The reason Steve Waugh doesnt crop up is because of aesthetics.. His greatest strength was his courage and fighting ability and these are hardly qualities that are reflected in a shot or averages.
On the other hand, I do believe that Ponting is a better batsman than Steve Waugh and its not just his slightly higher average. He also has more 100s and runs than Waugh.
FFS Uppercut, BoyBrumby posted earlier in the threadCW's resident really old man whose name escapes me .
Yep and before you know it, he's 35 with, maybe, one flicked boundary, your team has lost the momentum and he's barely raised a sweat.I reckon it's merely the illusion of a weakness. Ponting is statistically less likely to get out lbw for less than 10 than Sachin Tendulkar. In spite of the fact that everyone bowls on his pads when he arrives at the crease because of what you just said.
Definitely seems to have some arrogance issues, his continuing refusal to put away the pull shot over the winter despite it getting him into trouble on numerous occasions bordered on the stupid at times.Get the feeling that's where Ponting's game has fallen over a bit. He just doesn't seem as patient as he did when he was scoring big runs. Statements in the press about how he's going to take on all-comers, etc. more accurately characterise his early career when he was throwing the bat everywhere. At his peak, he was an extremely patient batter.
Yeah, good point. I remember going to the Adelaide Test against NZ two seasons ago, Ponting looked impregnable between lunch and tea. Really looked like he was cruising too, a monty for a big, big double in ideal conditions. Second over after lunch, was goneee.The other thing with Ponting is that he seems to have more of an air of vulnerability around him. Even when he passes 50, there's still a chance to get him out, which simply didn't exist 4-5 years ago.
Just checking his stats: between September 2002 until the end of the Ashes, Ponting played 54 Tests, scoring 5,863 runs at an average of 72.38. In those 54 Tests he passed 50 a total of 43 times - with 23 of those occasions becoming 3 figures.
Since the 2006/07 Ashes his 36 Tests have brought him 2,658 runs @ 42.87. He's passed 50 22 times in those 36 Test, but has only scored 6 centuries.
O'Brien got him, from memory?Yeah, good point. I remember going to the Adelaide Test against NZ two seasons ago, Ponting looked impregnable between lunch and tea. Really looked like he was cruising too, a monty for a big, big double in ideal conditions. Second over after lunch, was goneee.
Take a guess what shot he got out to.
Yep. Ponting seemed to suggest the ball held up a bit, in fairness.O'Brien got him, from memory?
Tbf he hit a double century filled with glorious pull shots the second such criticisms were levelled at him. Although he did sky one to fine leg on 0 .Definitely seems to have some arrogance issues, his continuing refusal to put away the pull shot over the winter despite it getting him into trouble on numerous occasions bordered on the stupid at times.
Hmm, its just that during those times he used to score a century almost every match. I remember a time when even if I didn't know the score or watch the match I would take it for granted that he had scored a century. He had that good a run and I think that at that point in time there was no better batsman in the world. Same cannot be said now.Oh man, Ponting is wayy better than Border..no comparison really.. Ponting is slotted in the same group as Lara and Tendulkar..
And no if Ponting retired in 2006, he would not be rated higher, at least not by me.
He would have less runs, less centuries. Ponting's strongest argument for greatness are his runs and centuries. The lower they are, the weaker the argument becomes.