Ponting unaware of 12,000-run milestone

Eurosport - Fri, 02 Oct 23:35:00 2009

Captain Ricky Ponting became the third batsman to reach 12,000 one-day international runs as he guided Australia to a nine-wicket win over England in the Champions Trophy semi-final.

CRICKET Ricky Ponting - 0

Ponting hit 111 not out and Shane Watson thumped an unbeaten 136, the pair sharing an unbroken second-wicket partnership of 252 to set Australia up for a final meeting with New Zealand or Pakistan on Monday.

"(Passing 12,000) is a nice little achievement I guess but I'll look at it when I have finished playing," Ponting said at the post-match presentation.

"(Squad member) Dave Hussey came out (to the middle) tonight and said, 'I wanted to tell you that you were getting close to 12,000 runs'. I had no idea, it's never been anything that motivates me, personal stats.

"It is about doing a job when it matters for the team so I'm happy I have been able to do that today," added Ponting.

The 34-year-old, who joins India's Sachin Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya of Sri Lanka in achieving the milestone, led from the front as Australia reached their target of 258 with 8.1 overs to spare.

All-rounder Watson's innings came as a relief to the opener after a run of patchy form with the bat.

"I hadn't had a great start to the tournament at all although I felt my bowling was quite good. So it was good to get going today and nice to bring the team home," said Watson.

"I have been lucky to play in a few big games for Australia although I haven't played as much of a part in them as I would have liked. Today I wasn't too overawed, as I have been previously."

England captain Andrew Strauss accepted his team were well beaten after they had been bowled out for 257 in 47.4 overs.

"It was a very good pitch and we definitely wanted to play shots but it just didn't work for us," he said. "It was very frustrating to lose our first six wickets for 101 runs but I guess you live by the sword and die by the sword.

"We've got to keep playing shots and improving our skills. It just didn't gel for us today."

Reuters

Comment 1 - 7 of 7

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  1. Always 'good' to migrate our loyalties, as and­ when it suits us!

    From Emmveeyem, on Sun 4 Oct 1:22PM

  2. Well said ricmeo67

    I am English but still think­ Ponting is, probably, the best and most complete­ batsman I have ever seen.

    He has also grown into a­ great captain after being a bit hot headed and a bit­ mouthy at first.

    He has learned that it is best to­ think before he speaks and now he talks more sense than­ any other captain.

    I really hope he is captain when­ the ashes are back here in 2013 as I would love to­ watch him bat in one more series before he retires.

    He­ has to get a job in cricket after he retires as he is­ an excellent example for any cricketer in the­ world.

    If I was to pick the best cricket team Ponting­ would be the first name on it every time.

    From Michael, on Sun 4 Oct 12:23PM

  3. An absolute masterclass in batting from a true great.­ Unfortunately, us English were on the receiving end.­ Wish he was born in England. Good luck to the aussies­ and the kiwis, it should be a cracking final.

    From robertgoodwin99, on Sat 3 Oct 10:19PM

  4. Rickey Ponting is a true go-getter but he is also a­ liar when he says that he wasn't aware of crossing­ 12000 mark. How could he? After all he is a human­ being.

    From Emmveeyem, on Sat 3 Oct 7:03PM

  5. I wasn't long unfortunately into Australias innings­ that it became far too apparent that the win was beyond­ us. we did well in the tournament, far better than we­ could have hoped and then we got the chance to sit back­ a watch one of the greatest players of all-time bat­ absolutetly sensationally, Watson in his slipstream was­ also genuine class. Well done Ponting, I didn't­ think i'd see a better odi partnership than Malik­ and Yousef against India but Ponting and Watson spanked­ us.

    From mgh0302, on Sat 3 Oct 11:27AM

  6. ricky ponting was ranked something like 13th lately -­ so this shows what a joke the ranking system is. ian­ chappel made a good comment - he said if you want to­ know who the best batsmen is you ask the opposing­ bowlers. theyll be pretty consistent in their­ assesment. after one checked stroke six he said­ 'that is not the shot of a number 13 ranked player.­ that is the shot of a number one ranked­ player'.

    but what was amazing in this innings is­ that he scored at such a rate and hardly played a­ single slog-shot throughout it. what ricmeo said rings­ true. note how ponting kept in watsons ear all night to­ keep him not losing the plot. he does knows how to­ build an innings, and thats why he has made as much­ 100's personally in the last two months in­ ODI's than the entire english team has in the last­ two years.

    From Cos, on Sat 3 Oct 8:12AM

  7. Love Him or Hate him.....I am English(before it all­ starts)... as a CRICKET FAN this guy is without doubt­ one of the all time greats, to see how he constructs an­ innings, rotates the stroke, and ultimately scores big­ runs..... ECB..Buy a DVd of this fellas batting­ performances over the last say 10yrs,sit our sorry top­ order down and make em watch it over & over &­ over again.......Then lets not forget Watson the­ ''makeshift'' opener..eh

    From ricmeo67, on Sat 3 Oct 2:49AM
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