Ricky Ponting, a Charismatic Leader in cricket world

Ricky Thomas Ponting, born on 19th December 1974, is the current captain of the Australian cricket team. Ponting is also nicknamed Punter.  He is a specialist right-handed batsman, slips and close catching fielder, as well as a very occasional bowler. Third Australian to score 10,000 Test runs.

Punter is considered the most successful captain in the world. He is going to lead his side for 3rd time in ICC World Cup this year. He also led his team in 2003 and 2007 world cup as captain and made exceptional winning both. However, he might be the lone  for all time one man if his team wins in world cup 2011 marking himself Hectic Winning Captain.

He is regarded as one of Australia's finest cricketers in the modern era. He represents the Tasmanian Tigers in Australian domestic cricket and played in the Indian Premier League with the Kolkata Knight Riders in 2008.

Ponting made his first-class debut for Tasmania in November 1992, when just 17 years and 337 days old, becoming the youngest Tasmanian to play in a Sheffield Shield match. 

However, he had to wait until 1995 before making his One Day International (ODI) debut, during a quadrangular tournament in New Zealand in a match against South Africa. 

His Test debut followed shortly after, when selected for the first Test of the 1995 home series against Sri Lanka in Perth, in which he scored 96. 

He lost his place in the national team several times in the period before early-1999, due to lack of form and discipline, before becoming One Day International captain in early-2002 and Test captain in early-2004.

Although the Test team had continued to perform well, sweeping South Africa 3–0 in the home series in 2001–02, the One-Day International (ODI) team suffered a slump, failing to qualify for the finals of the triangular tournament, leading to the dropping of Steve Waugh from the one-day team in February 2002.

Ponting was elevated to the captaincy, ahead of then vice-captain Adam Gilchrist. The fortunes of the ODI team revived immediately, and the Ponting's men won their first series during the tour of South Africa, defeating the team that had won the tournament that ended Waugh's reign.

Following his elevation to the ODI captaincy, Ponting played a prominent role in the Test tour of South Africa. He scored 100 not out to steer Australia to a four-wicket win in the Second Test in Cape Town. 

After being involved in 151 Tests and 352 ODIs, Ponting is Australia's leading run-scorer in Test and ODI cricket, with more than 25,000 international runs as of July 2010. 

He has scored 39 Test centuries-behind only Indian Sachin Tendulkar (50), and South African Jacques Kallis (40)-and third for most runs in ODIs behind Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya.

Ricky Ponting remains the most successful Australian captain of all time, with 48 victories in 77 Tests since 2004 - 31 December 2010, while as a player he has taken part in 99 victories, the most by anyone in history.

Ponting was prominent in the 3–0 whitewash of Pakistan on neutral territory in late-2002. He struck 141 in the First Test in Colombo and 150 in the Third Test in Sharjah to end with 342 runs at 85.50.

Ricky Ponting was destined to lead his country – I couldn't have handed Australian cricket's ultimate individual honour to a more capable and deserving man. A leader must earn respect and lead from the front, and on both of these counts Punter has undoubtedly excelled. 

When the one-day leadership duties were passed over to Ricky in South Africa, my main piece of advice to him was, 'Make sure you take care of your own game and maintain your form, because everything else will follow from that.' 

Since assuming the mantle, Punter has shown himself to be among the top three batsmen in the world in both forms of the game, and has elevated his hunger and desire for runs to a level most can only aspire to.

After winning the toss and electing to bat in the First Test in Kingston, Jamaica, Ponting recorded his 35th Test century, before he was eventually dismissed in the final session of the opening day for 158 from 224 balls (16 fours and a six). Despite forcing their way back into contention, the West Indies were defeated by 95 runs. In the Second Test, Ponting became the seventh player and third Australian to score 10,000 Test runs in 2007. It took Ponting 118 Tests and 196 innings' to achieve the feat, one slower than Tendulkar and Lara.

Ponting in his personal life is also a very happy one in the world. Born in Launceston, Tasmania on 19 December 1974, Ricky Ponting is the eldest of Graeme and Lorraine Ponting's four children. Graeme was "a good club cricketer" and played Australian rules football, while Lorraine was a state vigoro champion.

His uncle Greg Campbell played cricket for Australia in 1989 and 1990. Ponting's parents first lived in Prospect 4.1 km (2.5 mi) south of city centre; however, they moved into the working-class area of Newnham, 6 km (3.7 mi) north of central Launceston.

After marrying long-time girlfriend—law student Rianna Jennifer Cantor—in June 2002, Ponting credited her as the reason for his increased maturity. Their daughter Emmy Charlotte was born in Sydney on 26 July 2008.

Former Coach Buchanan sees Australia in final for Ponting

John Buchanan, who coached Australia to the last two of their three successive World Cup wins, has backed Ricky Ponting to lead them back into the final again in 2011 despite their recent Ashes humiliation.

Buchanan, a giant of Australian cricket, believes beleaguered skipper Ponting, however, needs fewer duties to worry about before he can take his team back to the one-day game's summit.

Buchanan still supports Ponting as captain and recommends a more selfish approach to help rediscover the kind of batting form that saw him crack a scintillating unbeaten 140 from just 121 balls in the 2003 World Cup final against India.

The quietly-spoken 6ft 4in coach nicknamed "Buck" succeeded Geoff Marsh as Australia coach in 1999 and quit the post in 2007 after leading them to World Cup wins in 2003 and 2007, a world record 16 straight test wins -- twice -- and a 5-0 Ashes whitewash in 2006-07.

England sealed a 3-1 series win this month with each victory by an innings as the Australians slipped to fifth in the test rankings after 15 years of world dominance, losing six of their last eight tests and six of the last 12 one-day games.

Buchanan, though, pointed out they are still the world's top-ranked team in 50-over cricket and believes they will reach a fifth straight final at the Feb 19-April 2 World Cup, to be held in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

"The Ashes is finished with," Buchanan, 57, told Reuters in a phone interview from his Brisbane home, which had been spared any flooding that has ravaged much of Queensland.

"The World Cup is a one-off tournament and it really doesn't matter what happens in Australia or other lead-up games elsewhere around the world. 

"The conditions they will experience will be different; they will be facing new teams every third day, so it's now just about what is required to win the World Cup."

Cynics might suggest his exit was timely. Australia's current travails come during a transitional period as the team continues to adjust to life without a raft of now retired world-class players who came together in one golden era.

Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Matthew Hayden, Adam Gilchrist have all gone.

One of those remaining, Ponting, who has played in the last four World Cup finals -- the last two as captain -- has suffered the backlash of the team's form dip more than most.

"He's the best man for the job as long as physically he maintains his skills -- there is no question of his batting ability," Buchanan said.

"He has been allowed to take on way too much in this so-called rebuilding phase. His principal skills are in and around the team, leading on the field and leading with the bat. 

"Provided that is all he is asked to do -- and I think a World Cup will allow him to do that -- that will give him a clearer direction on what he has to do in the short term."

Buchanan had forgettable spells with English county team Middlesex and Indian Premier League franchise Kolkata, but was highly successful with Queensland and then Australia.

His intent to be at the forefront of change, sometimes using left-field theories, divided opinion.

He favoured psychology more than the baseball glove and bowling machine. Warne was a frequent critic, while ex-Australia captain Ian Chappell has rarely supported the role of a coach at elite level.

Some observers undermined Buchanan's achievements, claiming anyone could have been successful with such a talented group to work with.

"Buck", though, pointed out Warne was not part of the 2003 or 2007 World Cup wins, while McGrath was not as influential at the latter two World Cups as '99.

"I never took this position with the idea I was going to tell Warne, McGrath, Hayden, Ponting how to play cricket," Buchanan said.

"I could provide questions and an environment that would challenge them but ultimately your principal role is to make sure they are their own best coach and that they know their own games inside out." 

Little has changed in his outlook on coaching in his current role as a motivational speaker, which accounts for most of his work nowadays.

While Ponting and Co. seek glory in the sub-continent, Buchanan may also be in India; not coaching cricketers, but inspiring those from the corporate world.

"I basically take the principles and lessons I learned from cricket," he said.

"If I visit an accountancy firm I will ask them where they want to be. Do they want to be the best accounting firm in Worcestershire, or the South East of England, or the UK or Europe? Where are they going?"

Although Buchanan opts to support his three sons and two daughters in their chosen fields in his spare time now, cricket remains his passion. When asked to predict the World Cup finalists, his patriotism is clear.

"I'm still an Australian through and through," he added, "Australia has played well over there in one-day tournaments and they're number one. So I will go for either an Australia-Sri Lanka or Australia-India final."

Courtesy: Reuters.com