Ricky Ponting is 35 and counting

Robert Craddock, writing in The Sunday Mail, discusses Ricky Ponting’s age – and his future.

When a Test batsman turns 35, it's much like a businessman turning 60. With retirement looming, you quietly sense you are not what you were but are happy to still be giving a bit of cheek and you celebrate those moments when you give those young bucks a shake-up.

It's not easy, though. History tells us that 35 is about the age when the great become good, the good become average and the bad are long gone. Australian cricket fans should not be shocked that Ricky Ponting, who has reached this watershed age, failed twice in the Lord's Test or that he has averaged just 38 in the last year. He is not what he was, but he is not bad.