da betcris： The headwear gave them away. Ricky Ponting and Phillip Hughes sat together after Australia’s win in Durban and the most obvious sign of the generational gap that divides them was the state of their baggy green caps
Brydon Coverdale in Durban10-Mar-2009
Ponting has captained Australia for five years but only now, with a new generation at hiscommand, does he have the chance to create his own distinct legacy for the next captain © AFP
The headwear gave them away. Ricky Ponting and Phillip Hughes sattogether after Australia’s win in Durban and the most obvious sign ofthe generational gap that divides them was the state of their baggygreen caps. Ponting’s was battered and faded, a victim ofsweat-drenched toil and booze-soaked celebrations from 130 largelysuccessful Tests. Ponting’s was baggier but Hughes’ was,appropriately, greener.Whereas Hughes’ cap – one of ten handed out over the past year – hasseen only the eastern half of South Africa during the past two weeks,Ponting’s has travelled the world for nearly 14 seasons. It has beensprayed with so much beer that it must smell like a bar-roomdishcloth. Most of those celebrations came with a familiar group offaces: Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Adam Gilchrist, Justin Langer,Matthew Hayden, Damien Martyn, to name just a few.It was a squad that Ponting inherited from Steve Waugh who, in turn,had accepted it from Mark Taylor and, before him, Allan Border. It wasa group that struck fear into the hearts of those who faced it andforged the greatest cricketing dynasty Australia has known. It was asquad that, over the past few years, eroded steadily with eachretirement.The departures of so many luminaries left Ponting with the youngestand most inexperienced side he has ever led. Ponting has captainedAustralia for five years but only now, with a new generation at hiscommand, does he have the chance to create his own distinct legacy forthe next captain. The “Ponting Age” has truly begun.The loss to South Africa in Australia this season was the end of anera. Australia had not been defeated in a home series for 16 years.Through most of that period they were unquestionably the world’s bestside. The beginning of the end of that era came in the 2006-07 Asheswhen Warne, McGrath, Langer and Martyn all retired. Gilchrist departeda year later. The loss of Hayden this summer left Ponting as the onlylink to the full stretch of Australia’s glory days.It has forced a change in Ponting’s leadership style. Where once hewas criticised for captaincy by consensus, turning to the likes ofWarne, Gilchrist and Hayden for advice, now he is demonstrably incharge in every aspect of Australia’s on-field performances. There arefewer committee meetings on the ground. Ponting directs traffic withthe confidence of a policeman.His authority extends beyond the field. During the net sessions in thelead-up to the Kingsmead Test it was notable that Ponting stood in theumpire’s position and watched every one of his new bowlers and batsmenwith an analytical eye, handing out advice when required andpresumably confirming in his mind who he wanted in the side.Those decisions haven’t been as easy of late. During the glory days ofwhat is sometimes known as the Warne-McGrath era, the team pickeditself. All the selectors had to do was cut and paste the squad fromthe last match and if there was an injury, throw in the man who hadbeen next in line. Now things are far less simple.Phillip Hughes, Marcus North, Ben Hilfenhaus and Andrew McDonald arenot names that most observers would have expected 12 months ago to bein the Australian Test side. It has meant an enormous challenge forPonting.”It’s certainly a unique phase in my career as a captain,” Pontingsaid. “To have a number of debutants, and a number of inexperiencedguys in the side, it’s something I haven’t been accustomed to in themajority of my career as a captain. I’ve said right from the start,that when these challenges come up and this transitional phase firststarted, I always looked at as being one of the most exciting littlephases of my career.”Being the captain of the side when I was, when we were so dominant,Test series and Test matches seemed to roll into one another. We werewinning everything that came along and we were expected to wineverything that came along. If you look at our group of players [now]… a lot of people around the world didn’t think that this wasachievable.”It has helped that Australia entered this match with an unchanged sidefor the first time in 16 Tests. Following the controversial homeseries against India in early 2008, the squad rarely looked settledthroughout the remainder of the year. Now Ponting is in charge of agroup of men who have been told their roles and are keen enough andcapable enough to perform to specifications.Players like Hughes, Hilfenhaus, Peter Siddle and Doug Bollinger couldhave ten-year careers ahead of them. They are without questionbenefiting from starting their careers under a leader who believes inthem and is willing to persist with them. Five years into hiscaptaincy, Ponting is finally starting to leave his own unique mark onthe Australian team.