Australia’s Ricky Ponting says he has a lot to offer in 50-over cricket

Australia’s Ricky Ponting says he has a lot to offer in 50-over cricket

Australia’s Ricky Ponting has claimed that he still has a lot to offer in One Day International (ODI) cricket, despite not being able to score runs in his previous four appearances in the ongoing Commonwealth Bank Series.

The veteran batsman is yet to reach double figures in the triangular series against India and Sri Lanka and his last four scores were 2, 6, 1 and 2. This has led to a lot of criticism against him, but he was confident of bouncing back soon.

The 37-year-old batsman said that he was not taking things for granted and has been training hard in the nets. However, he realises the fact that he will have to score runs with consistency in order to retain his place in the team.

According to Ponting, “There are still a few senior players around the side and they made it clear to the younger guys at the start of the summer that it was vital they gain a little bit of experience around them. But saying that, it’s not just reputation
that going to get you picked. You have to score runs, that’s what it’s all about. I know that as well as anyone.”

The stylish right-handed batsman had a similar situation in Test cricket as well, where he was struggling to score runs. However, the selectors kept faith in him and he finally delivered some strong results against India in a recently concluded four-match
Test series.

Ponting had to wait almost two years for his 40^th Test century, but hopes that he does not face a similar situation in the 50-over format.

Hopefully I’m not starting again with that," he said. "I can’t run away from what’s happened. It’s been four single-figure scores in four games. If I look at the way I’ve trained in the last few weeks, yesterday is the best session I’ve had in a long time.
I felt as sharp as I have all summer, but I’ve got to find a way to get some runs. If I’m out cheaply we’re 2 for 20-odd and we’ve been that in just about every game we’ve played.”

The most experienced campaigner in the current Australian squad is currently leading the team, as Michael Clarke sustained an injury during his previous game against India.

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Posted by Waqar Masood on Feb 17 2012. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry