Ricky Thomas Ponting AO (born 19 December 1974) is a Australian cricket commentator, coach as well as a former cricketer. Ponting was the captain of the Australian national team in its "golden era", between 2004 and 2011, in Test cricket, and between 2002 and 2011 in one-day Internationals (ODIs) and is the most successful captain of international cricket with 220 wins in 324 matches , with an average winning percentage of 67.91 percent. The Australian is considered by many to be among the top batsmen of modern times as of December 2006. He he achieved the highest score achieved by Test batsmen for over 50 years, but it was eclipsed by Steve Smith in December 2017. He is second on the list of cricketers based on the number of international centuries he that he has scored, just behind Sachin Tendulkar.

Domestically Ponting was a player in his home state of Tasmania and Tasmania's Hobart Hurricanes in Australia's domestic Twenty20 competition, called the Big Bash League. He was an expert right-handed batsman, a superb slip fielder and also an occasionally bowler. He was the captain of Australia towards their second consecutive 5-0 Ashes win , as in addition to winning at in the 2003 as well as 2007 Cricket World Cups and was also part in the 1999 World Cup winning team under Steve Waugh. He guided Australia to two consecutive ICC Champions Trophy victory in 2006 and in 2009. A combative and sometimes controversial captain, in terms of statistics, he is among the most successful captains of Tests ever, having 48 victories across the 77 Tests played between 2004 and 31 December 2010. As an individual player, Ponting was the sole player who has been associated with 100 victories in Tests and played in the greatest number of ODI victories while playing and scored 262 wins playing in over 160 Tests as well as 370 ODIs.

An extremely prolific batsman, Ponting has been ranked as Australia's top scorer of runs in both Test as well as ODI cricket. He was awarded the title "Cricketer of the Decade 2000" was selected as the nation's top Ashes XI in a Cricket Australia poll in 2017. Then, in July of 2018 he was admitted into the ICC Hall of Fame. He is currently the assistant coach for the Australian national men's team being appointed in February of 2019.

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Ponting made the announcement of his departure from test cricket in November 2012. one day before he played the final test in the series against South Africa; this was his 168th and final Test appearance, which was equal to the Australian record set by Steve Waugh. Ponting retired with a Test average of 51.85 however, Ponting continued playing cricket across the globe until 2013.


Childhood and early life

The family was born in Launceston, Tasmania, on 19 December 1974. Ricky Ponting is the eldest of Graeme and Lorraine Ponting's four children. Graeme had been "a good club cricketer" and played Australian rules football. Lorraine was the state vigoro champion. He was the uncle to Greg Campbell played Test cricket for Australia in 1989 and 1990. The family of Ponting's parents was initially in Prospect 4.1 kilometers (2.5 miles) south of the city center However, they moved to the working class area of Newnham located 6 km (3.7 miles) to the north of central Launceston.

After he got married to his long-time girlfriend and lawyer Rianna Cantor at the end of June in 2002 Ponting said that she was the reason behind his growing maturity. The couple has three children.
Junior ranks

Initiated to play cricket at the age of 11 by his father Graeme and his uncle Greg Campbell, Ponting played for the Mowbray Under-13s team when he was at the age of 11 during 1985 and 1986. In January of 1986 Ponting played in the annual five-day Northern Tasmania junior cricket competition. He scored four hundred and fifty-one runs over one week, the bat maker Kookaburra offered Ponting the opportunity to sign a sponsorship deal while in the eighth grade, mainly due to these four centuries. Ponting used this form in the Under-16s ' week-long tournament just a month later with a score of an even century in the final day. Ted Richardson, the former chief of the Northern Tasmanian Schools Cricket Association stated: "Ricky is certainly the equivalent of David Boon at this level.

Australian Rules football was also the main focus of the Ponting's life as a sportsman, and he is a fervent follower in the North Melbourne Kangaroos. The winter months were when Ponting played junior football with North Launceston and up until the age of 14 the sport was an option for sports. That was prior to breaking the humerus of his right arm while playing for the North Launceston Under-17s as a 13-year-old. Ponting's arm was so injured that it had to be put in a sling. Then, he was ordered to go through the 14-week break and never play in a competitive game for the rest of his life.

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When playing in Tasmanian Sheffield Shield matches at the NTCA Ground (Northern Tasmanian Cricket Association Ground), Ponting assisted with the scoreboard and was surrounded by international cricketers. After having left school at the conclusion of the year 10 in the year 1990, he started working as a groundsman for Scotch Oakburn College, a private school located in Launceston. In 1991, the Northern Tasmanian Cricket Association sponsored Ponting to take part in a fortnight's instruction in the Australian Cricket Academy in Adelaide. The two weeks of training became the full two-year sponsorship, as the rumours said that he was the most impressive 17-year-old batsman academy trainer Rod Marsh had ever seen.

Participating in five games for Tasmania during the Under-19's carnival of 1992 held in Perth, Ponting scored 350 runs. This earned him a spot for the national 13-man under-19 squad to play in the forthcoming South Africa tour. It is the first Australian cricket team to go on an official visit to South Africa since the team of Bill Lawry in the year 1970.

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