Australia needs hard nuts like “Punter” despite World Cup debacle: Dean Jones
March 27th, 2011 - 3:23 pm ICT by ANIMelbourne, Mar 27(ANI): Former Australian batsman Dean Jones has urged Cricket Australia against dumping Ricky Ponting from the team following their early exit from the World Cup.
Ponting arrived home on Sunday morning following Australia’s World Cup quarterfinal elimination by India.
“Ponting is our greatest one-day player and the second-best player to have played for Australia since Donald Bradman. If Cricket Australia wants to take the captaincy off him, that’s fine. But let Ponting decide when he wants to pull the plug in one-day and Test cricket,” Jones wrote in an article for the Sydney Morning Herald.
“We need hard nuts like “Punter” and he would love to help the young kids out,” he added.
Ponting scored 206 runs from seven World Cup games at an average of 34.33.
His 104 from 118 balls against India in the quarterfinal was his first international century in 13 months.
The 36-year-old, who has been captain for nine years, was under pressure even before the World Cup after the Ashes debacle early this year.
He has played in five World Cup tournaments, including Australia’s loss to Sri Lanka in the 1996 final and the three titles which followed in 1999, 2003 and 2007, the last two under his captaincy. (ANI)
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