Ricky Thomas Ponting. What’s in a name you ask?
Well, I’ll tell you what. 4 centuries at the age of 13! The magician of pull shot! The highest number of ODI wins as captain! Two-times World Cup winner! 100 Test match wins as captain! And, Player of decade declared by Cricinfo in 2010!
Yes, the name needs no introduction! Ricky Ponting was so popular with the bat, that once some allegations were made on him that his bat has spring within! That’s how he scores so many runs!
Born in a middle-class Australian family in a small town named Tasmania, Ricky was the eldest of the three siblings. His parents were also sportspersons, but none of them played cricket though.
45-year old Ricky Ponting celebrates his birthday today and on his birthday, let’s get to know some of the lesser-known facts about him!
– The run machine, the czar of runs in Australian Cricket history earned his first paycheck as a scorer!
Little did he knew at that time he would become the epitome of scoring runs! Destiny works in mysterious ways!
– The greatness personified, the highest run-scorer from Australia (in Test and ODI combined) could also not escape the charm and aura of the God of Cricket, Sachin Tendulkar, when he met him for the first time.
Recalling an anecdote from his book, Ponting said:
“I remember when I was in the Australian Cricket Academy team and our match was with the Indian team. I had heard a lot about Sachin Tendulkar and I wanted to see him. He was practising on the net and I was watching him standing in a calm posture.”
– Australia’s greatest captain, two times World Cup winner and captained Australia to a 100 Test match wins, he was lovingly called ‘punter’ by his fellow teammates and later, by everyone! Very few know that the name was given by Shane Watson.
We wish you a very Happy Birthday!
You were a treat to watch, in the good old days…!
-Sincerely: Every 90s kid!