Ponting's painful week
In his column in the Australian , Ricky Ponting writes that he's had better weeks than the current one.
Brydon Coverdale
25-Feb-2013
In his column in the Australian, Ricky Ponting writes that he's had better weeks than the current one.
From the time Kemar Roach hit me just above the left elbow with a short ball during the third Test in Perth I've struggled to hold a bat properly. I haven't batted since the Test ended on Sunday to give the damaged tendon as much time as possible to heal. Instead, I've spent regular sessions in a hyperbaric chamber, which increases oxygen levels, and just about every other waking minute on various ice machines.
...
Just how well all that intense treatment has worked should become obvious pretty quickly when I start batting in the nets at the MCG today. I want to have a full net session but I'll ease into it and see how I go and then hopefully be able to have a top-up session on Christmas Day. The selectors want me to wait as long as possible before making a decision but I've got to get some batting time. If it's too painful today then I may have to rule myself out because I can't see what difference a day would make.
In the Herald Sun, Ron Reed notes that the injury is just one of many problems for Ponting.
People are saying they will be barracking for Pakistan because they can't cop the way the Australians carry on, but can they be cut a bit of slack? Their on-field manners leave something to be desired, especially when they're under pressure, but at least they're not in the headlines for running riot off the field.
Andrew Symonds is not missed. Shane Watson has deserved the bagging for his childish performance in Perth and if, as he claims, he isn't embarrassed by it, he should be. But Watson was at a pub party for a bunch of very thirsty cycling people on Tuesday night and didn't touch a drop, for what that's worth.
Brydon Coverdale is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo. He tweets here