‘It’s too late now, champ’: Ricky Ponting reacts to debutant’s ‘lazy’ dropped catch

A young debutant has committed one of cricket’s cardinal sins in front of Ricky Ponting, prompting one of the great one-liners heard in the commentary box.

Never drop a catch in front of Ricky Ponting.

The former Aussie skipper and current Channel 7 commentator had a few tough words for debutant Khurram Shahzad, who put down a sitter at deep mid-on after David Warner attempted scooping off-spinner Agha Salman.

The ball slipped through the young gun’s hands and gave Warner another chance after he brought up triple figures.

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“It just looked lazy to me,” Ponting said from the commentary box.

But then Shahzad tempted Ponting some more with a little shimmy in the outfield, attempting to replay the catch.

“You see him practising it now. It’s too late now, champ,” Ponting said.

"You can see him practicing it now. It's too late now champ. It's way too late."

- Ricky Ponting after Shahzad's dropped catch 🫣 #AUSvPAKpic.twitter.com/TqQbA3g5Gs

— 7Cricket (@7Cricket) December 14, 2023

Pakistan didn’t have much to cheer about on the opening day of the series as Australia went to stumps at 5-346.

David Warner silenced his critics immediately on day one with his 26th Test century, knocking 16 fours and four sixes on his way to 164. Travis Head (40) and Usman Khawaja (41) also chimed in with some brilliant strokeplay, but the day was ultimately Warner’s.

Pakistan’s pace attack came back firing after lunch after a miserable first session that included a couple of dropped chances in the field. While the quicks forced a few play and misses and took Steve Smith apart before he could get going, the momentum was always in favour of Australia up until the closing overs.

Don’t ever drop a catch in front of Ricky Ponting.

The 37-year-old faced 211 deliveries throughout the day and while he played and missed a few, his innings showcased a bit of everything that has made his career tick.

He also passed Michael Clarke and Matthew Hayden to become Australia’s fifth highest scoring batsman of all time with 8,651.

He finally brought up triple figures with an uppercut over the slips and roared to the sky in celebration. He briefly put his hand to his mouth as if shush those calling for his early retirement.

We can only wonder how Mitchell Johnson is handling Warner’s antics after spending the lead-up to the series trashing Warner’s place in the side. Cameras were already on him in the media box from the first session, but it was all smiles from the former Aussie quick.

“It’s one of those things, there’s always going to be criticisms,” Warner told Adam Gilchrist heading off the field for the tea break. “No better way to silence it than to put runs on the board.”

Originally published as ‘It’s too late now, champ’: Ricky Ponting reacts to debutant’s ‘lazy’ dropped catch