Praise Ponting, Don't Bury Him

Spare a thought for Ricky Ponting, who became only the second Australian captain ever to lose an Ashes series in England and who will return home to face the inevitable wrth from the Aussie media, public and maybe even selectors. Once we have all calmed down and regained some sense we will realise the following: that Ponting is one of the best batsmen in the history of cricket (check the stats), that he led an inexperienced team with just two players who had sampled the Ashes before, having lost some of the greatest cricketers of all time (Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer) and perhaps most of all, he fronted up when it was all over with dignity and pride for his own team, and praise for England. Ponting may have had his moments on and off the field in the past, but he is now a class cricketer, and a class bloke.