Harsh Thakor
First Class Star
- Joined
- Oct 1, 2012
- Runs
- 3,502
- Post of the Week
- 2
If statistics at the peak period of batting career in test cricket and contribution in matches won is the criteria then Ricky Ponting is the best after Bradman.In his peak period he has statistically overhauled Tendulkar and Lara or even Viv Richards..The only factor against Ponting is that he never had to play against what was arguably the best team of all time and could thrive on weaker bowling attacks unlike Lara and Tendulkar.He also averaged much more at home than overseas. Infact for the best one down batsman title after Bradman Ponting statistically overshadows Sir Viv Richards.Ofcourse Ponting did not have to tackle the likes of Lillee and Thomson or like Greg Chappell have to tackle the great West Indian quicks. However he did decimate the likes of Wasim or Ambrose.Ultimately stats can never tell the real story and without doubt Lara and Tendulkar displayed higher skill against the quality attacks.Ponting may have been as agressive but still not as complete as Tendulkar or as talented as Brian.He has not equalled Lara's best efforts in test matches and series or Tendulkar's longevity or mastery in the most difficult conditions.It just illustrates how little statistics really depicts the true picture.Neverthless I wish to project Ricky Ponting's remarkable statistics.I still feel for pure match-winning he could have overshadowed Tendulkar but not Brian Lara.Sadly Ponting lost his form towards the end unlike Brian while Sachin's great comeback from 2009 to 2011 put him again at the top of the pedestal.
Ricky did not equal Brian or Sachin against spin bowling not equal their mastery on bad tracks.A lot of his runs came against the weaker West Indian attacks of recent times.I would have loved to have seen Ponting bat in the eras of Border and Greg Chappell, particulary against the great Carribean pace quartet.With his great reflexes and mastery of the pull shot he could have outclassed Border and Greg Chappell against pure pace.Overall In lists of 100 best cricketers writers like Cristopher Martin Jenkins unfairly Ponting is not rated amongst the top 45.In Jenkin's analysis even Gooch is ahead.In contrast Ananth Narayan's analyis places Ponting only behind Bradman,Lara and Sachin and ahead of Viv Richards and Jack Hobbs.Cricket ultimately is also about flair ,artistry and impact and in that regard Jack Hobbs and Viv Richards or even Walter Hammond and George Headley were ahead.However I don't think Ponting is 20 places behind Lara and 36 behind Sachin as ranked by the writers of the 1oo greatest cricketers.Overall to me Ponting would rank just in the final best 12 batsman of all time inches below Sunil Gavaskar and Greg Chappell.As a cricketer he would rank about on par with Wasim Akram.
Ricky Ponting's Test career
Period Tests Runs Average 100s/ 50s
Till Dec 1998 22 1209 36.63 2/ 7
Jan 1999 to Dec 2006 87 8114 65.43 31/ 29
Jan 2007 onwards 58 4043 40.83 8/ 26
Career 167 13,366 52.21 41/ 62
The golden years
During that eight-year period between 1999 and 2006, Ponting averaged 50 or more against all opposition except Sri Lanka, against whom he averaged 47.09 in seven Tests. He was especially unstoppable at home, averaging 73.76 from 47 Tests. He wasn't quite as prolific overseas, but still averaged an outstanding 56.55 in40 matches. The only blot during that period - as indeed over his entire career - was his record in India: inseven Test innings there, he scored 40 runs at 5.71; over his entire career, he averaged 26.48 in Tests in India, with one century in 25 innings. Harbhajan Singh was his tormentor on most of those occasions, getting him out ten times, the most occasions any bowler dismissed him. He averaged more than 40 in all other countries in which he played more than one Test.
Highest Test averages between Jan 1999 and Dec 2006 (Qual: 3000 runs)
Batsman Tests Runs Average 100s/ 50s
Ricky Ponting 87 8114 65.43 31/ 29
Jacques Kallis 81 7053 62.41 22/ 35
Rahul Dravid 82 7265 59.54 21/ 31
Mohammad Yousuf 66 5954 58.37 22/ 22
Inzamam-ul-Haq 65 5455 56.23 19/ 24
Matthew Hayden 81 7422 55.80 26/ 27
Sachin Tendulkar 71 5837 55.06 18/ 23
Brian Lara 74 7212 54.63 24/ 23
Steve Waugh 58 3818 52.30 15/ 11
Gary Kirsten 53 4197 51.18 14/ 17
One of the best at No. 3
Through most of the 17 years Ponting played international cricket, he owned the No. 3 spot. In all international cricket, he scored 22,869 runs from that position, which is easily the highest; the second-best is Sangakkara's 16,324. Ponting's 61 international hundreds at that position is 25 more than the next-best.
Breaking up those numbers format-wise, Ponting missed out on 10,000 Test runs at No. 3 by only 96, and though he currently has the most Test hundreds, Sangakkara is only three behind and will probably overhaul that mark pretty soon.
In ODIs, Ponting is easily the most prolific No. 3 batsman with 12,662 runs, almost 5000 more than the next-best (Kallis' 7759). His 29 ODI hundreds at No. 3 is more than twice that of any other batsman at that position (Kallis has 13).
Highest run-getters in Tests at No. 3
Batsman Innings Runs Average 100s/ 50s
Rahul Dravid 219 10,524 52.88 28/ 50
Ricky Ponting 196 9904 56.27 32/ 43
Kumar Sangakkara 169 9222 59.11 29/ 37
Don Bradman 56 5078 103.63 20/ 10
Hashim Amla 95 4734 55.04 16/ 22
Richie Richardson 107 4711 47.11 14/ 21
Rohan Kanhai 90 4689 52.68 13/ 20
David Boon 111 4412 45.48 13/ 20
won match 1995-2012 108 178 24 9157 257 59.46 15240 60.08 30 42 8 1026 53
lost match 1996-2012 31 62 0 2036 242 32.83 3581 56.85 4 12 8 248 12
drawn match 1997-2012 29 47 5 2185 157* 52.02 3961 55.16 7 8 1 235 8
Top Test batsmen since November 2001 to 2007
Batsman Tests Runs Average 100s/ 50s
Ricky Ponting 62 6501 71.43 25/ 22
Mohammad Yousuf 42 4318 66.43 16/ 15
Jacques Kallis 54 5001 62.51 15/ 27
Rahul Dravid 58 5128 61.78 14/ 25
Brian Lara 51 5420 60.89 19/ 15
Ricky did not equal Brian or Sachin against spin bowling not equal their mastery on bad tracks.A lot of his runs came against the weaker West Indian attacks of recent times.I would have loved to have seen Ponting bat in the eras of Border and Greg Chappell, particulary against the great Carribean pace quartet.With his great reflexes and mastery of the pull shot he could have outclassed Border and Greg Chappell against pure pace.Overall In lists of 100 best cricketers writers like Cristopher Martin Jenkins unfairly Ponting is not rated amongst the top 45.In Jenkin's analysis even Gooch is ahead.In contrast Ananth Narayan's analyis places Ponting only behind Bradman,Lara and Sachin and ahead of Viv Richards and Jack Hobbs.Cricket ultimately is also about flair ,artistry and impact and in that regard Jack Hobbs and Viv Richards or even Walter Hammond and George Headley were ahead.However I don't think Ponting is 20 places behind Lara and 36 behind Sachin as ranked by the writers of the 1oo greatest cricketers.Overall to me Ponting would rank just in the final best 12 batsman of all time inches below Sunil Gavaskar and Greg Chappell.As a cricketer he would rank about on par with Wasim Akram.
Ricky Ponting's Test career
Period Tests Runs Average 100s/ 50s
Till Dec 1998 22 1209 36.63 2/ 7
Jan 1999 to Dec 2006 87 8114 65.43 31/ 29
Jan 2007 onwards 58 4043 40.83 8/ 26
Career 167 13,366 52.21 41/ 62
The golden years
During that eight-year period between 1999 and 2006, Ponting averaged 50 or more against all opposition except Sri Lanka, against whom he averaged 47.09 in seven Tests. He was especially unstoppable at home, averaging 73.76 from 47 Tests. He wasn't quite as prolific overseas, but still averaged an outstanding 56.55 in40 matches. The only blot during that period - as indeed over his entire career - was his record in India: inseven Test innings there, he scored 40 runs at 5.71; over his entire career, he averaged 26.48 in Tests in India, with one century in 25 innings. Harbhajan Singh was his tormentor on most of those occasions, getting him out ten times, the most occasions any bowler dismissed him. He averaged more than 40 in all other countries in which he played more than one Test.
Highest Test averages between Jan 1999 and Dec 2006 (Qual: 3000 runs)
Batsman Tests Runs Average 100s/ 50s
Ricky Ponting 87 8114 65.43 31/ 29
Jacques Kallis 81 7053 62.41 22/ 35
Rahul Dravid 82 7265 59.54 21/ 31
Mohammad Yousuf 66 5954 58.37 22/ 22
Inzamam-ul-Haq 65 5455 56.23 19/ 24
Matthew Hayden 81 7422 55.80 26/ 27
Sachin Tendulkar 71 5837 55.06 18/ 23
Brian Lara 74 7212 54.63 24/ 23
Steve Waugh 58 3818 52.30 15/ 11
Gary Kirsten 53 4197 51.18 14/ 17
One of the best at No. 3
Through most of the 17 years Ponting played international cricket, he owned the No. 3 spot. In all international cricket, he scored 22,869 runs from that position, which is easily the highest; the second-best is Sangakkara's 16,324. Ponting's 61 international hundreds at that position is 25 more than the next-best.
Breaking up those numbers format-wise, Ponting missed out on 10,000 Test runs at No. 3 by only 96, and though he currently has the most Test hundreds, Sangakkara is only three behind and will probably overhaul that mark pretty soon.
In ODIs, Ponting is easily the most prolific No. 3 batsman with 12,662 runs, almost 5000 more than the next-best (Kallis' 7759). His 29 ODI hundreds at No. 3 is more than twice that of any other batsman at that position (Kallis has 13).
Highest run-getters in Tests at No. 3
Batsman Innings Runs Average 100s/ 50s
Rahul Dravid 219 10,524 52.88 28/ 50
Ricky Ponting 196 9904 56.27 32/ 43
Kumar Sangakkara 169 9222 59.11 29/ 37
Don Bradman 56 5078 103.63 20/ 10
Hashim Amla 95 4734 55.04 16/ 22
Richie Richardson 107 4711 47.11 14/ 21
Rohan Kanhai 90 4689 52.68 13/ 20
David Boon 111 4412 45.48 13/ 20
won match 1995-2012 108 178 24 9157 257 59.46 15240 60.08 30 42 8 1026 53
lost match 1996-2012 31 62 0 2036 242 32.83 3581 56.85 4 12 8 248 12
drawn match 1997-2012 29 47 5 2185 157* 52.02 3961 55.16 7 8 1 235 8
Top Test batsmen since November 2001 to 2007
Batsman Tests Runs Average 100s/ 50s
Ricky Ponting 62 6501 71.43 25/ 22
Mohammad Yousuf 42 4318 66.43 16/ 15
Jacques Kallis 54 5001 62.51 15/ 27
Rahul Dravid 58 5128 61.78 14/ 25
Brian Lara 51 5420 60.89 19/ 15