Thaindian News

Sydney, Dec 17 (IANS) Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting, who is struggling with form, can look up to Rahul Dravid as a inspiration that Test batsmen can fire even if they are in their late 30s.

Dravid, who turns 39 next month, is three months older than team-mate Sachin Tendulkar. This year Dravid has been in great form hammering 1067 Test runs and five centuries at 59.28 in his most successful calendar year since he scored 1357 runs at 59 in 2002.

Dravid was in woeful form in the last series Down Under in 2007-08 when he managed 237 runs at 33.86. This time he is on his top form.

“I wouldn’t have minded scoring five hundreds (fewer) or 1000 runs less if we could win a series in Australia,” Dravid was quoted as saying by the Herald Sun.

“The greatest memory for me now is not necessarily statistical. It’s not the number of runs, it’s those magical moments. The series wins in Tests stay with you. I think that’s what you play for at this stage.

“I don’t have anything in terms of my own numbers or statistics that I want to achieve in Australia, but I want to win a Test series (here) and help the team win in Australia. It is something that we have never done. So every time you go and tour there you want to get that goal. It’s not going to be easy, it never is, but I think the team’s goal is to try to win a series,” he said.

Dravid will be playing his 161st Test on Boxing Day.

“As a batsman, if you are disciplined about things you can prolong your career,” Dravid said. “It’s a question of getting everything right and getting the technical side of things right. You have all this scientific help today to tap into in terms of your physical fitness. If you are doing these things you can ensure that you play for pretty long periods of time.

“In terms of satisfaction with my batting, I am happy. I think some of the runs I got this year classify as what you call ‘tough runs’. Obviously the tour of England was a disappointment, but from a personal view, this year is among the best I have had.”