Ian Chappell Interviews Ricky Ponting

Ricky Ponting says his form slump more than a year ago was about as low as he got.

CRICKET great Ian Chappell sits down with Ricky Ponting to talk everything from 'that' form slump to retirement plans.

You had a perfect preparation against Victoria?

I couldn't ask for any more really with my whole preparation, pretty much from the end of the West Indies tour. I had a couple of months off where I sort of gave my body and mind a bit of a chance to settle down after a pretty tough summer. I had a couple of months away from cricket, got back to the gym, started working hard on getting fit, getting strong and then a pre-season with the Tassie boys, three Shield games now under my belt and one more to go next week down in Hobart so the preparation for me will be pretty much spot on from the start of the summer.

South Africa – about as tough as it gets?

Yeah, you look at their side and they've probably got the best bowling attack in the world and arguably the best batting line up as well now with Mark Boucher, going out of their side as good a player as he was and as good a keeper as he was, with De Villiers taking the gloves they can afford to play a specialist batsman at number 7 and we know how good Steyn (pictured below), Phillander and Morkel have been for them over thee years and they've got the class all rounder in Kallis so they've got most bases covered there. But I guess for us if we want to get back to the number 1 team in the world we've got to beat the best and at the moment. They're the best and we'll see how we go against them over the coming weeks.

What's the big challenge for you up against those quick bowlers?

Well they had my number over there last time. My technique wasn't where it wanted to be when I was in South Africa last time and because they are so good they did expose those little flaws. I've had 18 months to rectify things and I'm certainly in a better place than I was at the start of that series in South Africa last year. The thing about international cricket these days is you've got to keep reinventing yourself because there's nowhere to hide with all the technology we've got these days. Every innings you play can be scrutinised by the opposition, they would have done their homework on all of us so it's important we all prepare well.

Where will it be won or lost?

We just have to have more outstanding players, more of an even contribution than they do throughout the series. I don't think you can look at a particular aspect of either team's game and say that's where it will be won or lost. Our batsmen have to make a lot of runs, our bowlers have to bowl exceptionally well and be very disciplined. I think what made the Australian team stand out is that we did the basic things very well for a long time and I think if we can do that this series, we'll be right.

When you say you've got to reinvent yourself these days, where do you see yourself doing that?

I have to start playing better off the back foot again. With my technique getting where it was I was just getting on the front foot too much and not being able to play off the back foot as freely as I used to. For me this Shield season I started getting back onto the back foot an pulling and hooking as well as I ever have, so that's what I had to do. I know that Steyn and Morkel will try and drag me across the crease and hit my pads and my back wickets, so I know what training and preparation I'll have to do through the off-season and the first part of the Shield season to try and get around that. I feel like my balance is really good and I'm seeing the ball really well and for me they're usually good signs.

If you don't mind me saying so mate, that's good news that you're starting to get on the back foot again.

Yeah I'm certainly playing a lot better now. That's one area that I had lost, being able to stand up and hit the ball through the covers off that back foot or pull the ball like I used to. It's sort of gone a little bit so I've done a lot of work on that. It's feeling really good.

When you lost the captaincy, what was your motivation to keep playing?

My motivation to play has always been the same thing. I've wanted to be a successful part of a very successful team and that's really what keeps me motivated now. I've always enjoyed working with the younger guys as well. I think I've got a lot to offer them and help them to develop that little bit quicker than they would playing with guys of the same age so that's a big part of my role in the team now, almost as a mentor to some of the younger guys. Certainly in a batting role anyway. But it's just the thrill of the contest. That, for me, has never diminished, and it probably won't even once I have retired from the game. That challenge of batsman versus bowler is still as exciting for me as ever. Every net session I have it's that way and every time I go out in the middle it's that way, so that's what keeps me going.

In making the decision to keep playing without the captaincy, do you accept that you might be dropped?

Oh yeah. I thought long and hard about the decision I made about stepping down from the captaincy. I just felt it was the right time in terms of what we had coming up, as far as this series is concerned, as far as the India series next year and then the Ashes soon after, I wanted to make sure that the next guy coming in had the appropriate amount of time to be well ready and have plenty of experience under his belt for those big series so it was the hardest decision I've ever had to make as a cricketer, to step down from the captaincy because it's something that I loved and something that I cherished every moment of. But the timing was right for me and Mike has stepped up and elevated his own game which is a good sign for us.

Is there a level that you've got and you won't go below, where that will be the sign that it's time to go?

Yeah maybe. I was probably as low as I've been in a long time 12 or 18 months ago. It was getting to the stage where unless I could play as well as I could I wouldn't be around any more. But I knew there were signs there for me all the time. I was getting enough out of my training and my preparation to know that it was only a matter of time before it came back. I know I can't afford to have another lean trot like I did back then, because then it will be time to walk away. But I wanted to finish my career on the right note and we’ll see where that is in the future.

Would you prefer to get a tap on the shoulder from the selectors, rather than just get dropped?

I don't think it would get to that. I'm a realist and I'll understand that if there's players out there who can play the game better than me, I'll be the first to accept it and walk away. I'm not going to let it get to the stage where the selectors drop me. I think I'll identify the right time. Everyone I've spoken to that's retired have said they've felt when it's the right time, when they can't find it in themselves to elevate their game. I haven't felt that yet at all so I know it's not the right time. I'm just going to prepare for the Brisbane test match, hopefully get a few there and see what happens.

When you say it was as low as you can get 18 months ago, what was the low point for you?

I think through the middle of that South African series over there. I got out a few times the same way in a row and no matter what I did I couldn't seem to get my bat out of the way. So that was hard and there was speculation around then. Should he be playing? Is he too old? Can he get back to playing the way I know he can play? As much as I kept telling people and myself I could do it, no matter how hard I tried I just couldn't get the results I was after so I was happy with the way the Australian summer finished, to get the monkey off my back with the hundred in Sydney and back it up with a 200 in Adelaide the next week. That was good signs for me that the hard work was starting to pay off. I just have to be a consistent run scorer and work from there.

How hard has making the change from captain to player been?

It hasn't been hard at all. As just a player that can turn up and train and help out other guys rather than having as much on your plate as you do as a captain, I think actually makes the game a little bit easier. I still think about the game as I would as a captain. When I'm out on the field and I'm standing around, I'm always thinking about what I would do as a captain. But as far as things that you've got to do with media and picking teams and thinking about playing conditions and all of that stuff, it's easier not to have to worry about that stuff now. The transition has been fine. When I stood down and Michael took the captaincy, I said I'm used to being told what to do anyway.

Just like home, hey?

Just like home, exactly.

Australia used to regularly pick batsmen 20, 21 years of age to make their debut but since you debuted 17 years ago, it seems that there's been many more mature-aged debutants than younger guys. Can you point your finger at any reason for that?

No I can't. I think maybe there hasn't been the out and out outstanding talent that there was a few years ago. I think Michael Clarke was probably the last bloke selected at a reasonably young age, with a first class average under 35 or something like that. It hasn't happened all that often. That's probably more a reflection of the stability we've had in the Australian batting line up. But in the last couple of years having the chance to go back to state cricket and see some of the talent coming through, I think there is some young talent coming through. But it probably isn't on the batting side of things as bright as Australian cricket would like to be at the moment. I think in the fast bowling side of things seems to be in the best shape I can remember. And I think the challenge for Australian cricket now is bringing some of the 17, 18 and 19-year-old kids into the system and getting a couple of years in under the belt and hopefully into Australian colours.

Have you got any ideas on how to rectify that problem?

I've got a few ideas. I think there's probably a few deficiencies. Kids now are brought up playing the shorter forms of the game, more so than ever. The technique side of things that you learnt, and I learnt as kids is probably not there as much any more - the ability of guys to bat out a day, or in tough conditions against good bowling. For a young kid, that's probably not part of the cricket mindset any more. So I think that might be a part of the reason. There's some challenges there as far as developmental coaching is concerned and making sure we identify the kids with good technique, and teaching good technique and focussing on the long form of cricket when they're younger, to keep developing good Test players.

Just back on the captaincy, is there anything you would have done differently if you had your time over?

No I don't think there is. I don't worry about looking back at things like that. Every decision you make in life, not just on the sporting field – a lot of time and energy goes into it. You think things through before you make decisions and you always think the decision you make at the time is going to be the right one. I've got no regrets or things that I'd change as far as the captaincy is concerned or as a player either. I've lived my life this way, and decided to play cricket this way so I've got no regrets.

What's been your greatest satisfaction so far as an Australian cricketer?

I think the greatest satisfaction I've had as a captain anyway was walking off the field in South Africa a few years ago. We brought a really young team over there. We had Phil Hughes making his debut over there. We had guys like Andrew McDonald, Marcus North, Mitchell Johnson, Peter Siddle, Ben Hilfenhaus. All those guys basically on their first away tour. We were playing South Africa in their back yard, I think they were the number one ranked team at the time. They'd just beaten us in Australia and everyone expected us to be rolled over there. We won the first two Tests really well. I remember walking off the field in Durban and I remember thinking, I'm just going to walk 10 or 15 metres ahead of the boys, I'm going to stand on the boundary and look at the faces on the way off. You had guys like Hughes and McDonald with their arms around each other. And North and Hilfenhaus and Siddle, smiles on their faces that you just couldn't believe and you couldn't imagine. For me as captain seeing the joy they got out of winning a test series like that, was probably my proudest moment.

And the biggest disappointment?

Losing Ashes series as a captain, that's been the biggest disappointment. And probably the '05 Ashes series was my biggest letdown. We went over there with an excellent team and were just outplayed by an emerging English team at the time. We redeemed ourselves and bounced back strongly in Australia in '06/07 and whitewashed that series. That was also some of the most satisfaction I've had. But I think any time you lose an Ashes series, especially with the hype and build-up surrounding it and the pride we have as Australians playing against England, that's always hard to take.

And the biggest change in Australian cricket since you started?

I think there's been some really positive change around Cricket Australia and the way they're looking at the national teams and the support and structures that have been put in place, I think that's one of the best changes. Some things that came out of the Argus review I think have been really positive. We haven't seen the effects of all of that just yet, but I think the direction we're heading in is the right one. That's probably the biggest change. Cricket, the game, is still the same game. Sometimes we can complicate things a little but too much but we're still playing the same game and we just have to make sure we’re finding ways and means to get the best out of our players.

As you get older that balance between family and cricket alters quite a bit. How hard was that change to adapt to?

Luckily for 10 or 12 years now we have been exceptionally happy. That's made my job as a player and a captain a little bit easier, knowing that away from the field things were in order and my wife's sacrificed a lot in her life to give me the opportunity to do what I’ve done for such a long time and now I've got a couple of young girls on the earth as well, my perspective on life and even on cricket's slightly changed. It's not the be all and end all in my life as it was 15 years ago. The girls couldn't care less if I made one or a hundred or 200 or a duck. I come home and there’s two smiling faces, being the little girls and hopefully a smiling face from my wife too when I come home and that makes cricket that little bit better.

There was a time in your life when you were an angry young man. What changed that do you reckon?

Probably just the realisation that being an angry young man, I wasn't going to get the best out of myself as a player and a person. That's probably one thing that I would change through my life and through my cricket, just the way that I was as a young bloke. I was always fiercely determined and driven to succeed. As a young bloke it had a bit to do with that. Looking back now, that probably motivated me then. I was using that to my advantage back then, but now I'm a bit calmer and probably have a bit more respect for everything that's going on around me than I did as a young bloke.

Ambitions after cricket?

I want to be a dad, first and foremost. I want to be a good father. I've spent so much of my life on the move and travelling around the world that just to set up a home for my family and be a good dad is something that motivates me. I'll stay involved in the game somehow. I love the game too much not to. But just to be a dad for a little while will be something that I'll enjoy.

nice

Some interesting responses. The only thing I perhaps disagree with is Punter's reasoning about retirement etc. It's obvious that he deserves to be there now, unlike perhaps before the India series last year because of his recent form and the lack of somebody knocking down the order. Nonetheless even making some of those runs like he did against the Indians last year, it's a bit disingenuous of him to think that he's elevating his game. Most informed cricket observers agree that he's past his peak.

Interesting to see how Australia goes about producing the really young batting talent again though.

Most ageing sportsmen will tell you the biggest battle they face is preventing the little voice in their head telling them it's time to quit becoming overwhelming. Once that happens it's all over. They have to constantly convince themselves as much as anyone else that they still belong at the top level.