Ricky Ponting is regarded as one of the finest cricketer’s to have ever played the game. One of the most successful Australian cricketers of all-time, Ponting was an astute thinker of the game. He did a great job in leading Australia after taking over the captaincy reigns from Steve Waugh in the mid-2000s. Ricky, who achieved almost every feat as a player for Australia, possessed a natural quality of being the leader.
He was at the peak of his powers when he was asked to deliver under pressure. It was quite rare that Ponting would bow down against any challenge thrown at him on the cricket field. He played 168 Tests and 375 ODI for his national team, scoring more than 13000 runs in each of the two formats.
In his playing days, Ponting, who was referred with his nickname ‘Punter’, recently revealed the series of events that led to the coining of his nickname. In a reply to one of his fans over Social media, the former Australian replied using his official Twitter handle, mentioning about how Shane Warne gave him the nickname.
The three-time world champion recalled how he loved placing bets on dogs that led him to be nicknamed ‘Punter’. In Australian lingo, the word – Punt – refers to placing a bet on something usually a horse or a dog race. Ponting, who was quite fond of placing bets on dog races, was, as a result, nicknamed ‘Punter’ by former teammate Shane Warne.
Here’s what Ponting replied:
We were getting paid $40 a month when we were living at the cricket academy in 1990. I used to go to the TAB to have a bet on the dogs and @ShaneWarne gave me the nickname https://t.co/uY61XKaEAx
— Ricky Ponting AO (@RickyPonting) January 27, 2020
Both Warne and Ponting have played a majority of their cricket together for Australia. The leg-spinner has always rated Ponting as one of the best cricketers to have ever played for Australia, Under Ricky’s captaincy, Australian cricket scaled greater heights. During the period between 2003-2007, the ‘Men in Green and Gold’ were seemingly invincibles, both home and away.
A lot of credit for their success in the first decade of the century can be attributed to how well Ponting led the side by himself setting an example for the rest of the team to follow.
