Ponting's loss marks the end of an era

From Brad Hinds, Australia

http://blogs.espncricinfo.com/inbox/archives/2011/03/pontings_loss_marks_the_end_of.php

Ricky Ponting did all he could to ensure success for his team, but his century – his first in 13 months – proved futile © AFP

The reign has ended. Here endeth an incredible era of Australian cricketing dominance. The passing of the World Cup in the tense quarter-final match in Ahmedabad between Australia and India is a poignant and poetic representation of things coming full circle. It was a brave battle fought by both sides, but it was India’s temperament and determination which propelled them beyond the line, past their long standing adversaries, and into a future of new frontiers and new possibilities.

It has been 12 years since Australia won the 1999 World Cup – almost 12 subsequent years of dominance. It is because of the grandeur of Australia’s passing that the era isn’t said to have ended with either the loss of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy or indeed the loss of the Ashes on Australian soil. It was Australia’s loss against India in Ahmedabad that represented a culmination of all of these failures. It started with the World Cup. It ended with the World Cup.

The reign has ended. Ricky Ponting has seen the very best of that entire period, and has now witnessed its bittersweet end. Like Australia, he has largely dominated the international cricket stage. It was his unforgettable innings of 140 in the 2003 final against India that got Australia their second consecutive World Cup win. He subsequently led Australia to victory again in the 2007 edition. It was he who carried on from Steve Waugh to set up 34 consecutive World Cup victories. With this in mind, Ponting has been synonymous with Australia’s greatest successes (and some equally great failures) ever since Australia won the World Cup in 1999.

It might be brutally harsh to Australian cricket fans who witnessed those glory days and were tempted to think they’d continue when it seemed for a little while as if Australia might just make it into the semi finals. It was Ponting himself, in the face of some overwhelming scrutiny, who walked out to the crease horribly out of form and played a classy innings of 104 in tough conditions – in what is likely to be his last ever World Cup match. It was he who kept Australia's futile hopes alive. That in itself seemed fitting for a player who has, on so many occasions, taken Australia across the finish line. He is, of course, the only player still in the side from that remarkable win against Pakistan in the 1999 final.

In the context of the quarter-final, he is a tragic hero. A hero for having come through when they really needed him, but ultimately coming through for nothing. It was a somewhat eerie experience watching him regain the very best of his fluency right on the precipice. He stood there almost until the very end. He seemed like the only batsman who truly cared what this game meant. But it was futile, because despite his great effort, they lost. Because India did not repeat their mistakes of 2003. Because they did not capitulate. Because they were the ones who crossed the finish line this time.

Over the next few weeks, there will be many questions asked about the ability of the current Australian line-up and, indeed, the captaincy of Ponting. He did everything he possibly could. As a batsman, and as a captain, Ponting could not have done anything differently in Ahmedabad. It was at the most crucial moment in the tournament that Ponting stood up and delivered an innings he should never forget, despite the result of the match. For the most part, his bowlers did a decent job of putting pressure on India at crucial moments. Brett Lee, especially, another Australian World Cup veteran, played like a champion.

No one should forget what Ponting accomplished. It was an inspiring tribute not only to his own contribution to the team in all formats of the game during his tenure – Australia’s greatest batsman since Bradman - but also to the greatest aspects that have characterised Australia as a whole over the preceding 12 years.

But it is time to move on. Ponting is no longer burdened by the expectations placed on a team that is nowhere near of the same caliber it used to be several years ago when many of its greats departed. He is finally free of those shackles. Free of a terrible Ashes record. Free of the expectations of winning a fourth consecutive World Cup. He has expressed his desire to keep playing international cricket, but is this something that he really ought to do? Certainly, there’s the distinct possibility he could regain, in the long term, much of the form he’s lost over the last 18 months, but does that even matter?

Ponting is 36, and as Australia finally relinquish their hold over world cricket, perhaps it is time for change. Sometimes you have to realise when it’s ‘your time’. Having gone out with dignity with a terrific century, should this be the end of Ponting’s ‘time’? That is the question he will need to seriously consider as Australia move forward from this very important defeat.