Agony for Ricky Ponting as Aussie injury jinx returns

RICKY PONTING gave Australia their first injury scare of the summer yesterday when his part in the team’s first full practice session in Nottingham was curtailed after he received a fierce blow on his right wrist.
Ponting lay prone on the ground for a couple of minutes, teammates huddling around him, before being taken away for treatment. In an echo of the mishap that ruled Glenn McGrath out of the Edgbaston Test in 2005 — when McGrath stood on a stray ball on the outfield — Ponting’s injury was the result of a basic error.
About to begin his first batting session, he went to pick up a ball by the side netting just as Mike Hussey played a shot in the adjoining net, the ball hitting Ponting full on the wrist. He was given ice treatment but not sent for an X-ray. This is the same wrist on which Ponting had major reconstructive surgery in July last year after problems in the Caribbean. However, he is expected to be fit for Australia’s first warm-up match against Bangladesh at Trent Bridge tomorrow.
Earlier, Michael Clarke, the vice-captain, had spoken fulsomely about Ponting’s energy and enthusiasm. Clarke said that, contrary to what recent results and Ponting’s own form might suggest, the Australia captain remained at the top of his game as both player and leader.
Since mid-October, Ponting has averaged a meagre 36.1 in Tests and has presided over five defeats that in any other Australian era would each be regarded as a catastrophe — by 320 runs and 172 runs to India; by six wickets, nine wickets, and an innings and 20 runs to South Africa.
Clarke also expressed the surprising hope that Ponting, who at 34 is six years older than his deputy, would lead Australia for the rest of Clarke’s career. “I’m definitely not ready yet with the captain we’ve got,” Clarke said. “Ricky is an amazing cricketer. There are not too many around today who are as good a player as him or as good a leader.
“One of his strengths is that he can not only lead someone like Shane Warne, an all-time great spin bowler, but also Phil Hughes, a 20-year-old kid playing Test cricket for the first time. He’s been one of Australia’s great leaders and is keen to continue playing. I think he has got a long time yet left in all forms of the game.”
Clarke added that English audiences should not underestimate this Australian team just because it contained some unfamiliar names. “It’s been a long time since the likes of Warne and McGrath were playing and we as a team have moved well and truly beyond that. We will never be able to replace those guys but we are not trying to either. It has given new guys an opportunity and those who had theirs in South Africa really made the most of it. If we play the cricket we know we can we might surprise a few English fans.”
While Clarke, like Ponting, declined to predict an Ashes scoreline, Brett Lee ventured that the series would be close.
“It’s going to be tight again and it’s going to be played in the same spirit as 2005,” Lee said. “I just want England at full strength. I want Freddie Flintoff out there, I want Kevin Pietersen playing. I want to test myself against the best. I want packed crowds. I want it to be on again like it was four years ago. Playing it in England feels like the real Ashes to me . . . There’s all the hype, all the attention, all the theatre.”
Meanwhile, Stuart Clark’s hopes of getting up to speed for the Ashes with two championship appearances for Gloucestershire next month have been all but dashed by visa problems. “The chances of Stuart coming are slim,” a club official said.
Like Clark, who underwent elbow surgery earlier this year, Ryan Sidebottom is facing a battle to get enough overs under his belt in time for the first Test. The England left-armer has made a good recovery from an Achilles operation but his inclusion in England’s World Twenty20 squad means his bowling opportunities are limited.
If England reach the semi-finals, Sidebottom may play only one first-class match before the Ashes, barely sufficient for someone who benefits from regular work. He says he may have to look elsewhere. “The is to try and get in as much bowling and cricket as possible, whether I practise in the nets or get some cricket somewhere else,” he said. “I’ve played club cricket for Leek this season and would do it again if the opportunity arose. I need to bowl regularly and prove I am 100% fit, and not 80% and getting through a game umming and ahhing. I’ve worked hard on my fitness and lost a lot of weight. I see myself down the pecking order. All I can do is push hard those players who are doing well.”
WORLD TWENTY20 GROUP AND KNOCKOUT STAGES
Group A
India, Bangladesh, Ireland
Group B
Pakistan, England, Holland
Group C
Australia, Sri Lanka, West Indies
Group D
New Zealand, S Africa, Scotland
Super eight phase:
Group E (probable)
India, England, Australia, South Africa
Group F (probable)
Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, New Zealand
- Semi-finals on June 18-19
- Final takes place at Lord’s on Sunday, June 21
- All matches live on Sky Sports
Source:The times