Ricky Ponting launches spirited defence of Australia’s ‘very good, very strong’ culture
FORMER Test captain Ricky Ponting has launched a spirited defence of Australia’s under-siege cricket culture, saying the Cape Town saga has fuelled unwarranted criticism of the national team.
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CONTINUED pot shots at the culture of the Australian cricket team don’t sit well with former captain Ricky Ponting who believes the “ugly Aussies” tag doesn’t apply to the players he knows.
Ponting conceded there had always been a few incidents “here and there” with the national outfit. But he believed the critics were just piling in on the back of the ball-tampering scandal in South Africa.
This week Cricket Australia has asked for further details on claims from English all-rounder Moeen Ali, made in his new autobiography, that he was called “Osama” by an Australian player during his Ashes debut in 2015.
It’s unlikely to progress beyond the book claim because Ali didn’t make an official complaint at the time and doesn’t want to now. The player he accused of the racial slur denied it then and now.
Ponting, who captained Australia in 77 Tests and 230 one day internationals and was entrenched with current the one-day outfit during June’s ODI series against England as an assistant coach, was adamant the team culture was “very strong”.
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“A lot of stuff’s been made about the culture around the team on the back of the one issue in South Africa. There wasn’t anything spoken about the culture of the team before that, really,” Ponting said on Tuesday.
“Yes, there might have been a few little occasions where things got out of hand and a little over the top.
“But ... you can do everything right for 10 years and have one little incident and it’s back to the ugly Aussies.
“Australian cricket has been fighting that label for 30 or 40 years.
“I’ve been around the team a fair bit since the Australian summer last year with the T20 triangular series (in New Zealand) and the five one-dayers in England. The culture of the Australian cricket team has always been very, very good and very strong.”
Ponting said under new coach Justin Langer and captain Tim Paine there would be no occasion for the “ugly Aussies” tag to be associated with the national team.
“I can guarantee you with Justin being in control now and the people he will have around him and Tim Paine being captain, things will be vastly different going forward,” he said.
Ponting backed late blooming batsman Aaron Finch to open for the Test team in Pakistan and said he expected the new look outfit to not just do well, but win the two-match series.
“I was a bit critical last week of some of the selections, but let’s just hope whatever team they put on the park will be very competitive, and I’d like to think they would be,” he said.
“I’d like to think they could win the series to be honest.”