Ponting to quit as the greatest, says Vaughan
FORMER England captain Michael Vaughan has hailed his adversary Ricky Ponting as the best batsman he ever faced after the Australian announced his intention to retire from international cricket after the third Test against South Africa.
Ponting, who is the second highest run scorer in Test history behind Indian Sachin Tendulkar with 13,366 runs, plays his 168th and final Test in Perth on Friday.
Vaughan, who triumphed over Ponting in the 2005 Ashes, said: “The best batsman I had the privilege to play against was Ricky Ponting. Australian cricket will not be the same without him. Punter [Ponting] played better against me than Sachin Tendulkar did. Both are incredible players, but if I had to pick one it would be Ricky.”
Ponting, who has hit a total of 71 international centuries, is the only cricketer to be involved in over 100 Test victories and is also statistically the most successful Test captain of all time with 48 victories in 77 between 2004 and December 2010.