Ponting encourages Tait to make a Test comeback
July 2nd, 2010 - 1:44 pm ICT by ANILondon, July 2 (ANI): Australian skipper Ricky Ponting is reported to have urged South Australian spearhead Shaun Tait to make a comeback to Test cricket.
So impressed was Ponting with the resurgence of pace thunderbolt Tait that he said he would encourage him to strive for a dramatic Test comeback.
Tait has not played a Test since 2008 - when he withdrew from international cricket because of “emotional exhaustion” - and he has since quit first-class cricket.
Australia’s fire and brimstone quick has become a Twenty20 and one-day specialist and Ponting said that he probably would have little chance of convincing Tait to make a stunning red-ball comeback.
But asked if he might encourage him to return to long-form cricket, the Courier Mail quoted Ponting, as saying: “I’ll be talking to him about that, yeah.”
“I’m sure a few of our boys will be having a whisper in his ear over the next few weeks. It’s nice to have that firepower and that wicket-taking ability,” he added.
Tait’s slinging bowling action puts incredible stress on his body, but if he could somehow find a way to remain injury free, he would be a special X-factor in Test cricket.
He bowled at speeds of up to 155km/h in the fourth ODI, taking 1-23 and dismissing England captain Andrew Strauss with an outswinger that was just about unplayable. He has added a fresh edge to Australia’s ODI attack. (ANI)
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Tags: andrew strauss, bowling action, class cricket, courier mail, cricket australia, emotional exhaustion, england captain, fire and brimstone, firepower, international cricket, little chance, odi, resurgence, spearhead, special x, tait, thunderbolt, twenty20, wicket, x factor