Ricky Ponting reveals he was forced to clear the air with Joe Root
Ricky Ponting has revealed he sought out the star batsman after being approached by England coach Brendon McCullum during the Ashes.
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In modern cricket broadcasting no one’s opinion carries more weight than Ricky Ponting’s – and apparently Joe Root needed some validation.
During an entertaining hour on Sky Sports as the Fourth Test crawled to a rain-affected draw, Ponting spoke on a range of topics, including a recent encounter he’d had with the star England batsman.
Ponting was stunned earlier in the Ashes series when he was talking to England coach Brendon McCullum, who informed him of Root’s belief the Aussie legend “doesn’t rate him”.
Ponting couldn’t believe a player who has scored more than 11,000 Test runs and will be remembered among the best four batsmen of his era alongside Steve Smith, Kane Williamson and Virat Kohli would have that doubt.
So he sought out Root at Lord’s to let him know he held a very high opinion of his ability.
Ponting said Root mentioned he’d basically never heard a kind word from the Aussie – and perhaps there’s some evidence to back that claim.
As recently as the First Test of this series, Ponting was quite cutting while discussing Root.
The England No. 4 had just followed an unbeaten century in the first innings with a sparkling knock of 46 in the second when Ponting memorably shut down Kevin Pietersen.
It came after Pietersen lavished praise on Root’s 55-ball innings in which he hit a reverse-scoop for six in his first few deliveries.
“He [Root] ran the game, he was pure quality and he just owned that space,” Pietersen said.
“All of this lot (the Australian team) were just scratching their heads going, ‘What do we do?’”
“Well, he’s out now,” Ponting said, matter-of-factly. “He got 40.”
But it’s been even worse in the past.
During the last Ashes in Australia, Ponting went hard at the then England captain after he’d said his bowlers needed to bowl fuller and be “a bit braver” midway through a 4-0 series defeat.
“I nearly fell off my seat when I heard that,” Ponting said. “Whose job is it then to make them change? Why are you captain then? If you can’t influence your bowlers on what length to bowl, what are you doing on the field?
“Joe Root can come back and say whatever he likes but if you’re captain, you’ve got to be able to sense when your bowlers aren’t bowling where you want them to. That’s what captaincy is all about.”
Ponting went as far as saying England’s attack looked better when Root was off the field with a groin injury and under the guidance of Ben Stokes.
“The interesting thing for me is the only time they bowled full in the game was when Joe Root wasn’t on the ground,” Ponting said. “The start of day four when they had a meeting on the ground before play started, Stokes took over the captaincy, and that was the only time in the game they pitched the ball up.”
And back in 2017, which was another 4-0 series win to Australia, Ponting had called Root “a little boy” and “soft”.
“The way he answered a lot of the questions after the game last week seemed almost like a little boy. You need to be more than that as a leader, especially when things aren’t going well. It just looks like it has been a little bit soft,” Ponting said.
Even Ponting’s attempt at delivering some glowing praise after the Edgbaston Test last month read at times like a backhanded compliment.
After Root notched his 13th Test hundred in the past two years to momentarily move top of the ICC batting rankings, Ponting was asked if he was underrated.
“I do not think he has been underrated because I do not think he has actually probably fulfilled his full potential until the last two years,” Ponting said.
“He has never scored a hundred in Australia, but his last two years have … elevated him from being a very, very good player to one of the great players.
“He has added some shots to his repertoire, which I did not think he would be able to do,” Ponting added.
“Reverse sweeping Pat Cummins’ first ball of a day in a Test match at the start of day four was something I did not think I would see.”
Any wonder the man had a bit of a complex.
Originally published as Ricky Ponting reveals he was forced to clear the air with Joe Root
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