Ricky Ponting
The last time you were here, you were a junior member of the side. Now you
are back as one of the seniors, one of the key players. How do you figure
you have grown, changed, between then and now?
For one thing, I understand my role in the side a lot better. Last time, I
was like, I went out there and batted, played my shots and if I got out,
that was that.
Now I have a clearer understanding of what my game is about,
where I fit in the team matrix, what the team expects from me, and when you
understand things that way you fit in a lot better.
How much have you grown as a cricketer ever since you last toured India? And
what according to you is your role in this team?
There has been a remarkable difference in our approach to the game. We all
learn a lot, we learn something from each touir. My role in this team is the
same as everyone else. It is a bunch of 12-13 guys trying to achieve the
same goal. My job as a batsman is to get as many runs as I can, as the team
has very high expectations from me.
Setting yourself individual and team goals is a very Aussie trait -- so how
about you, what are your goals for this tour?
Yeah, well, the team has its goals, Steve will tell you about them but
obviously, doing well here, winning a series here which is something an
Australian team hasn't done in a long while, is going to be high up on that
list.
Personally, I haven't set myself any goals, other than wanting to do
well, to do my best. I don't want to be getting too far ahead of myself,
telling myself I want to make so many hundreds or whatever -- my goal is
just to play as well as I can, and know how, the rest will take care of
itself.
What lessons, learnt from your last tour, do you reckon will come in handy
this time round?
Just one, mate -- to take the game one session at a time. Last time round, I
think that is where we failed, we had an overall picture but we didn't look
at the individual sessions. What happened was, when we had a good session,
it was fine, but when it turned bad on us,
when we hit a rough, it was a
real rough. A bad session is when you lose two, three wickets -- but last
time, it was like, we would lose six, seven in a session and you can't
bounce back when you hit the skids that big. The lesson you learn is to hang
tough, to weather the storm when things are going bad, to try and minimise
the damage -- like, okay, you expect to lose a wicket or two, you might even
lose a third, but you have to stem the flow, tough it out, last out the
session, then come back regrouped and ready to turn it around again. It's
okay to have a 50-50 session --- we need to focus on not having disastrous
ones.
You have been a vice captain, Ricky, and then lost it. Now Adam has the job
and he seems to have settled into it nicely. Any regrets? Is the Australian
captaincy still a dream, or have you given up on that?
Yeah, well, I messed it up the first time round didn't I? Goes to what I was
telling you, I now have more of an awareness of my role in the side, of what
I can contribute, than I did earlier,
I've learnt to value my cricket more.
Yes, right, the captaincy is a goal, a dream, seems a bit far off now, but
when Steve was out through injury and Adam took over, I slipped into the
vice-captain's berth and it felt okay, I did okay, so maybe the dream is not
dead yet, I just need to work on my game, keep learning, and work towards
making it happen. No regrets, mate, but then, the story ain't over yet.
On the field, Ricky, you are the superstar -- like Jonty for the South
Africans. You look like you are having fun being at point, being under
pressure in the key position. Do you, even mentally, have this thing going,
this need to prove yourself, to measure yourself against Jonty?
Mate, in Australia we set our own standards, we don't measure ourselves
against others, we don't rate ourselves against the standards others set.
Yeah, I love fielding, I work hard at it, I enjoy being out there, diving
around, stopping shots, throwing the stumps down -- but then, all the blokes
work as hard, they are all good fielders, you don't find too many duds in
our bunch. Mentally measure myself against Jonty or anyone else? No.
I measure myself against me -- if I have a good day, I work towards repeating
it, if I have a bad day, I raise the bar and look to do better next time out
in the middle.
You played in the tour opener, how did that go?
I think it was a nice way to start, with two half centuries, but it was
disappointing in a way that I wasn't unable to convert them into centuries.
It would have been better had I got to the three figure mark.
We will have
to get hundreds to win this series. Getting sixties and seventies won't do
it for the team, we need big hundreds and we are looking forward to getting
them.
Will Kumble's absence make it any easier for the Aussies?
The strength of the Indian bowling has surely diminished slightly, anyways.
Not having Kumble will be an added bonus for us. Kumble has always performed
well at home and the fact that he is not around will no doubt help our
cause.
How do you view this Indian tour? How important is this series for you and
the team?
In the last three years, we have played in the sub-continent, beaten
Pakistan but lost in Sri Lanka in a close series. But India without doubt is
the toughest tour.
We were beaten pretty easily last time, we haven't lost
to anyone else as badly. Now we are back, and we have to apply ourselves to
the job on hand. We have been very keen on this series and have been
speaking a lot about this. We're here to play our best cricket yet, because
that's what it will take to win here.
Home > Cricket > Up close with the Aussies
