Ponting chooses rest over county cricket
March 23rd, 2012 - 5:35 pm ICT by IANSMelbourne, March 23 (IANS) Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting has opted to rest after a demanding home season and will not be playing county cricket in England.
Ponting will enjoy a five-month break after the Test series in the West Indies next month and he plans to spend the free time with family besides preparing for the home series against South Africa in November.
“It (county cricket) doesn’t really fit into what I am looking at doing,” said Ponting, who was linked to be part of Somerset for the upcoming season.
“I am looking forward to having a bit more time pre-season with the Tasmanian Tigers this year back in Hobart and spending a bit of time with the family so county cricket is probably out of the question.
“I have got to look at what my best preparation is, post the West Indies, and that will probably be to have a couple of months off.”
The 37-year-old, who is not expected to play in ODIs after being dropped from the side, said preparations for series against New Zealand and India had taken a toll on him.
“It has been a hard 12 months for me personally and around my cricket. With things not going as smoothly as I wanted at the start of the year, I had to train harder and work harder on my game and think more about my game than ever before. It has taken its toll a little bit, so I need to have a chance to refresh and recharge my batteries and get a solid pre-season under my belt before the Australian summer,” he said.
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- Pre-season training with Tasmania bowling coach helped Hilfenhaus - Dec 28, 2011
- Gayle snubs Somerset contract, makes himself available for Windies - May 03, 2012
- No regrets about standing down: Ponting - Dec 07, 2011
- Bellerive Oval doesn't seem to miss Ponting - Feb 24, 2012
- Preparation for Test series against India will be ideal: Ponting - Dec 17, 2011
- Gibson, Sammy welcome Gayle's return - May 04, 2012
- Ponting, Hussey to play against India on Boxing Day, says Arthur - Dec 13, 2011
- Hilfenhaus revives his hope of Test comeback - Dec 19, 2011
- Somerset not suing Gayle over contract snub - May 05, 2012
- Gibson staying out of Gayle-WICB fracas - May 03, 2012
- Zaheer's injury, a sign of excess cricket, say ex-skippers - Jul 22, 2011
- Zaheer's injury, a sign of excess cricket, say ex-skippers (Lead) - Jul 22, 2011
- Ponting wants to carry on even after India series - Dec 28, 2011
- Not worried with Zaheer's comments: Ponting - Jan 11, 2012
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