"Babar Azam can have success all around the world" : Ricky Ponting

[Abdullah719]

Ponting on Babar's innings today:

"Babar Azam certainly delivered, everyone saw just how good a player he is, how classy he is.

Technically he's very good, he would've been disappointed with his first innings dismissal. Looked like he had assessed how he had to play to make runs in Brisbane. His defence was tidy, he played the ball a lot later, waited for the bowlers to come to him. We saw how strong he is off both front and back foot. He's a classy player.

The fact that he's done that today should be a really good learning curve for him for future overseas tours, not just the rest of this series, but going to somewhere like SA or England where he'll have conditions similar to Brisbane. If he plays with a blueprint from today's innings, I think he can have success all around the world.

As a young bloke, trying to find a way to survive in the game is an important thing. Young blokes like him who come into the game with a lot of talent and skill, it's quite easy to get carried away ahead of yourself, probably the same as I did. I came in with all the shots in the world.

Picking the right times to play them and understanding the situation of the game, how you're going to give yourself the best chance of succeeding... In the first innings, you could see he was trying to impose himself on the contest a bit earlier than he should have. If he keeps learning and thinking about what he did today, that's the important thing.

When you have success, you have to look at why you had success, break it down, what was I thinking at a certain time, what did I do defensively, what did I do when I attacked and just make sure you can keep doing that time after time."

 

[Shoaib88]

I used to think Ricky Ponting was a arrogant/racist person during his playing days due to his aggressive behaviour but nowdays he seems like a genuine person who doesn't have bias for australians and actually praises good talents from other countries too. I listened to his comments regarding Rizwan's dismissal in first innings too where he said that it seemed clearly like a no ball. Huge respects for him.

 

[Saj]

Aussies really taking to Babar and appreciating his class. It's been a long time since the Aussies showed so much respect for a Pakistani batsman

 

[Humza_Razzaque]

And bobby has finally announced himself.
Must mean alot if its coming from this lad

 

[Ahson8]

Ponting talked about Azhar's defensive strategy off not making Nasim bowl as well. I wish he could be part of our coaching setup

 

[AMSS]

Aussies really taking to Babar and appreciating his class. It's been a long time since the Aussies showed so much respect for a Pakistani batsman

Deja vu for UAkmal fandom

 

[Relic]

Deja vu for UAkmal fandom

Why are you still comparing the two?

Akmal never even made it into the top 5 for ODIS in his whole career.

 

[pillionrider]

Just caught the highlights of his hundred. What shots. Stunning cut shots especially today.

He obviously has an all-round game that's better than Umar Akmal but the best part is how different he seems mentally, and in mentality. It can only go upwards from here.

 

[jnaveen1980]

He is way better than Umar Akmal. He doesn't experiment too much with his shots which will earn him consistency.

 

[big_gamer007]

Painting is class act. PCB should try and rope him as a batting consultant for overseas tours. Might work wonders for young batsman provided they follow his advice during home tours as well.

 

[The Viper]

Some excellent comments by Ponting.

It was good to see Babar be more watchful and leaving wide deliveries, no need to attack every ball.

 

[Dr_Bassim]

Umar was/is pure brainless.

He didn't have the talent or mental fortitude to stay at the crease enough before the "unnecessary slog" shot to the legside.

If Umar had brains and talent and mental ability, he would have been better batsmen than Babar.

 

[Chief Destroyer]

Umar was/is pure brainless.

He didn't have the talent or mental fortitude to stay at the crease enough before the "unnecessary slog" shot to the legside.

If Umar had brains and talent and mental ability, he would have been better batsmen than Babar.

Nope, Umar is not the technical genius Babar is. His game is heavily flawed.

 

[sshakir411]

Babar can score runs...always but not sure if he can win you games singlehandedly

 

[Mobashir]

Babar can score runs...always but not sure if he can win you games singlehandedly

What does it mean win a game single-handedly?
Can you show examples of people winning games alone?

 

[Rellu_Katta]

shame is he didnt go onto to score big ....

really should have gone to score a big 100.. i think he lost his concentration after the 100 ....

needs daddy 100z

 

[Titan24]

Babar can score runs...always but not sure if he can win you games singlehandedly

Babar's 100 agaisnt NZ in world cup was a match winning knock and one of the best innings in WC 19. I said on that day as well that this will be the career changing knock for Babar and he hasnt disappointed afterwards.

The kind of knocks you are expecting are once in a blue moon knocks like Razzaq against SA and even Kohli who has tons of centuries only have handful of kncoks in which one can say he singlehandedly won the match.

Those kind of knocks arent planned and they just happen, Babar in 25 and has enough skills to play those ATG kind of knocks.

 

[Titan24]

shame is he didnt go onto to score big ....

really should have gone to score a big 100.. i think he lost his concentration after the 100 ....

needs daddy 100z

True. However, many people forget that Babar played handful of FC matches and had just 1 or 2 hundreds FC before he debuted in test unlike Kohli or even Smith(Who started as a leg spin all rounder).

He is learning on the job while playing tests and I think has done a pretty good job due to the class he has. Big 100s will also start to come in as there in no reason why they wont.

 

[Varun]

I used to think Ricky Ponting was a arrogant/racist person during his playing days due to his aggressive behaviour but nowdays he seems like a genuine person who doesn't have bias for australians and actually praises good talents from other countries too. I listened to his comments regarding Rizwan's dismissal in first innings too where he said that it seemed clearly like a no ball. Huge respects for him.

I always liked Ponting.

A lot of English and a lot of Indian fans loved to hate him but I thought he was class on and off the field.

 

[Sam99]

Babar is consistent but not match winner like kohli or smith.

 

[Rellu_Katta]

True. However, many people forget that Babar played handful of FC matches and had just 1 or 2 hundreds FC before he debuted in test unlike Kohli or even Smith(Who started as a leg spin all rounder).

He is learning on the job while playing tests and I think has done a pretty good job due to the class he has. Big 100s will also start to come in as there in no reason why they wont.

agree to that... and also, something that isnt in babar's favour is a mentor on the pitch to bat with... kholi had the greats to guide him, Dravid, SRT, Dhoni, ... Smith well, he played in aussi-land , they are as competitive as it gets ...

Babr really needed tht presence .... i think if he had the same support that Azhar and Asad had from Younis and Misbah, he would have been a well established player even now. ....

 

[Oneking]

If Babar is smart he will approach Ricky Ponting to help with his batting they both have the same batting style

 

[silentkiller187]

yet our own fans continue to play down his quality.. shame

 

[Captain caveman]

Umar was/is pure brainless.

He didn't have the talent or mental fortitude to stay at the crease enough before the "unnecessary slog" shot to the legside.

If Umar had brains and talent and mental ability, he would have been better batsmen than Babar.

What rubbish!
Brains and mental ability is the same thing einstein! And yes you are correct in this point, but to say he never had the talent, shows how little you know about cricket.

At age 20 umar would have wiped the floor with a 20 year old babar. Why 20, thats the last time umar played tests. Scoring 129 and 75 against bond in NZ and averaging 35 in test, all of which were overseas in sena countries against the bowling of broad, anderson, bond, mitchell johnson etc. And then he was dropped from tests, without explaination, and never played tests again. Babar on the other had has been averaging 35 for over 21 tests, many of which were played on dead pitches of uae, never dropped and persisted with. And now the pakistan team are reaping their rewards, but they never gave umar such a opportunity.

Umar had all the shots, babar relies mostly on off drives, he cant pull or hook or play sweep shots, he has no power game or stamina, gets tired after he scores a century and gets out, at this rate forget about a double century, he will never score a big daddy century, so will never dominate in tests.
Yes babar looks like a success story and umar has failed. But no way in the world is babar more talented than umar, his just more intelligent and had the full backing of the pcb, whereas umar seems like he has health issues with possibly learning difficulties, but a prime umar akmal was a far superior batsman than babar has been so far.
Its easy to mock people who have not succeeded, but that is just a reflection of the type of person the mocker is, and no reflection on the mockee.

 

[Captain caveman]

Too many of the posters on this thread sound like pakistani uncles - constantly mocking their older son because he didnt quite get the grades to go to university, but giving lavish praise to their younger son who did get a place at university.

Pakistanis need to change their attitude, you can praise someone without putting someone else down!
Third world mentality!!

 

[Titan24]

What rubbish!
Brains and mental ability is the same thing einstein! And yes you are correct in this point, but to say he never had the talent, shows how little you know about cricket.

At age 20 umar would have wiped the floor with a 20 year old babar. Why 20, thats the last time umar played tests. Scoring 129 and 75 against bond in NZ and averaging 35 in test, all of which were overseas in sena countries against the bowling of broad, anderson, bond, mitchell johnson etc. And then he was dropped from tests, without explaination, and never played tests again. Babar on the other had has been averaging 35 for over 21 tests, many of which were played on dead pitches of uae, never dropped and persisted with. And now the pakistan team are reaping their rewards, but they never gave umar such a opportunity.

Umar had all the shots, babar relies mostly on off drives, he cant pull or hook or play sweep shots, he has no power game or stamina, gets tired after he scores a century and gets out, at this rate forget about a double century, he will never score a big daddy century, so will never dominate in tests.
Yes babar looks like a success story and umar has failed. But no way in the world is babar more talented than umar, his just more intelligent and had the full backing of the pcb, whereas umar seems like he has health issues with possibly learning difficulties, but a prime umar akmal was a far superior batsman than babar has been so far.
Its easy to mock people who have not succeeded, but that is just a reflection of the type of person the mocker is, and no reflection on the mockee.

Babar can play more shots as well but he restricts himself just like Kohli or Smith as they know what they can do and their wicket is more important than an extraordinary six attempt or a risky cover drive.

Umar Akmal had talent and there are no two ways about it however, he didnt have patience and attitude to stay on the wicket. He himself never give importance to his wicket and didnt respect his own talent which can be seen in 90% of his dismissals in which he gave his wicket away because he was too ambitious on every ball and didnt visualize the bigger goals and stakes involved. 3 centuries he has in his international career involved high risk and it was difficult for that event to happen again and again because that in the air, risky stroke play has very low probability to produce centuries at international level.

His fearless attitude was impressive but he didnt know when to restrict that and respect the opposition and the match situation.

Even inherently more aggressive players like Finch, Warner, QDK, Roy etc know which shots to play against which bowlers and when to respect the bowler, Umar lacked in that regard.

 

[Captain caveman]

Babar can play more shots as well but he restricts himself just like Kohli or Smith as they know what they can do and their wicket is more important than an extraordinary six attempt or a risky cover drive.

Umar Akmal had talent and there are no two ways about it however, he didnt have patience and attitude to stay on the wicket. He himself never give importance to his wicket and didnt respect his own talent which can be seen in 90% of his dismissals in which he gave his wicket away because he was too ambitious on every ball and didnt visualize the bigger goals and stakes involved. 3 centuries he has in his international career involved high risk and it was difficult for that event to happen again and again because that in the air, risky stroke play has very low probability to produce centuries at international level.

His fearless attitude was impressive but he didnt know when to restrict that and respect the opposition and the match situation.

Even inherently more aggressive players like Finch, Warner, QDK, Roy etc know which shots to play against which bowlers and when to respect the bowler, Umar lacked in that regard.

I agree with your assessment on umar. If i was his coach, i would give him 2 pieces of advice:
1. In tests play NO aerial.shots, this is where he loses his wicket and his cousin rarely, if ever plays aerial shots and thats why he is successful.

2. Practice against spin, his spin game is weak, go to younis khan and get some advice how to play spin.

I am not sure about your assessment on babar, babar mostly plays off drives, he cuts in odis because theirs no slip cordon, but thats a risky shot in tests. I have seen him play the occassional pull shot and we saw what happened in the first innings when he tried to play a square drive.
I think babar is limited in his shots, but the shots he has, he plays beautifully, in particular the off drive.

 

[Dr_Bassim]

What rubbish!
Brains and mental ability is the same thing einstein! And yes you are correct in this point, but to say he never had the talent, shows how little you know about cricket.

At age 20 umar would have wiped the floor with a 20 year old babar. Why 20, thats the last time umar played tests. Scoring 129 and 75 against bond in NZ and averaging 35 in test, all of which were overseas in sena countries against the bowling of broad, anderson, bond, mitchell johnson etc. And then he was dropped from tests, without explaination, and never played tests again. Babar on the other had has been averaging 35 for over 21 tests, many of which were played on dead pitches of uae, never dropped and persisted with. And now the pakistan team are reaping their rewards, but they never gave umar such a opportunity.

Umar had all the shots, babar relies mostly on off drives, he cant pull or hook or play sweep shots, he has no power game or stamina, gets tired after he scores a century and gets out, at this rate forget about a double century, he will never score a big daddy century, so will never dominate in tests.
Yes babar looks like a success story and umar has failed. But no way in the world is babar more talented than umar, his just more intelligent and had the full backing of the pcb, whereas umar seems like he has health issues with possibly learning difficulties, but a prime umar akmal was a far superior batsman than babar has been so far.
Its easy to mock people who have not succeeded, but that is just a reflection of the type of person the mocker is, and no reflection on the mockee.

Umar didnt have the brains AND TALENT to stay at the crease.

That isnt rubbish.

Learning to stay at the crease is a talent in itself and he just couldnt OVERCOME this habit of his.

I think its [MENTION=141557]Chief Destroyer[/MENTION] you should be quoting though anyways. He is the one who thinks Akmal was flawed.

I have always believed that Umar was far superior than Babar if he had brains and talent for long stays at the crease and could have learned to play on merit.

 

[Captain caveman]

Umar didnt have the brains AND TALENT to stay at the crease.

That isnt rubbish.

Learning to stay at the crease is a talent in itself and he just couldnt OVERCOME this habit of his.

I think its [MENTION=141557]Chief Destroyer[/MENTION] you should be quoting though anyways. He is the one who thinks Akmal was flawed.

I have always believed that Umar was far superior than Babar if he had brains and talent for long stays at the crease and could have learned to play on merit.

What you are describing as talent is actually game awareness and how to build an innings. He had the talent i.e. SKILLS of batting, the building an innings at test level, no one has, until they have played a sufficient number of tests and gained experience of playing test level cricket. You cant even learn this at domestic level because the standard is much lower than tests. And as we know umar was thrown out of the test team at 20 years old, averaging 35 in tests, all played outside asia, in SENA countries against the best bowlers in the world!
Which other country would dump a 20 year old, who showed so much promise?
Its not like Pakistan has an abundance of talented batsman.
Anyway, we are just arguing about the word talent, i do agreed withthe rest of your post.
As a doctor, you would know better than me but umar may have learning difficulties, and if he does, then it would be outrageous to say that such a person does not have the brains to do whatever, its just people with learning difficultie's brains are wired differently and they need to be taught/ trained differently, but i guess PCB and Pakistan are far behind the west on such matters.

 

[Abdullah719]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Mike Hussey "Babar Azam has looked superb, he's looked in control, calm and clear with his gameplan. He's played really well and he's been great to watch. The Aussie fans have thoroughly enjoyed watching him bat and it was great to see him get a 100 at the Gabba" <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AUSvPAK?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AUSvPAK</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) <a href="https://twitter.com/Saj_PakPassion/status/1201812460984053760?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 3, 2019</a></blockquote>
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