Last Update on: November 20th, 2023 at 10:54 am
Former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting lauded opening batter Travis Head for his brilliant century during the final match of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023. Ricky Ponting described Travis Head as one of the premier all-format players in the world at the moment.
Travis Head played a pivotal role in Australia’s six-wicket victory against Team India at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday. Head demonstrated aggressive and skillful batting, scoring 137 runs from 120 balls with the help of 15 boundaries and four sixes.
Travis Head Does And Scores Big Runs – Ricky Ponting
Speaking to Sky Sports, Ricky Ponting highlighted Travis Head’s ability to overcome challenges, describing him as an unorthodox batter. The former Australian batter acknowledged Head’s emergence among the top players across formats.
“Travis is emerging as one of the three or four best all-format players in the world. His Test record is outstanding.”
“He is unorthodox at times [in one-day cricket] and you wonder how he will get past the new ball, but he does and scores big runs,” said Ponting.
Pat Cummins’s Captaincy Has Been Faultless – Ricky Ponting
Ricky Ponting praised Pat Cummins, emphasizing that there should be no doubts about his leadership skills. He said Cummins made a bold decision to bowl first in the final. He acknowledged the improvement in his leadership and bowling throughout the event.
“I think (the captaincy) has been almost faultless, to be honest. I mean, any captain deciding to bowl first at the toss, that’s a gutsy, courageous move. Australia felt that if they could bowl well on that dry wicket early on and restrict India, batting was gonna get easier in the second innings – but we all know if you get that call wrong and you lose the game, that’s a huge decision to make for a relatively young captain.
“I thought his leadership actually has got better and better right through the tournament. His bowling has got better, and the way he used his bowlers today and some of his field placements to (Virat) Kohli and KL Rahul, are outstanding, so once again, an Australian team just finds a way to get it done in the final.”
Also read: Ricky Ponting Wants Quinton De Kock To Play One More 50-Over World Cup
