By Bipin Dani
MUMBAI, India
(TheSportsNEXT) December 5, 2012: The emotional farewell to Ricky Ponting
in his last Test innings at Perth was not pre-planned, according to Cricket
South Africa (CSA).
Former Australian captain and the second highest run-scorer
in Test history, Ponting was given a guard of honour by the South Africa team
as he walked to the crease.
"Graeme Smith felt that it should be done as a token of
respect for Ponting. It wasn’t pre-planned, it was a spur of the moment
gesture", Lerato Malekutu, the Media Officer, South Africa team said.
"The players were humbled to share the final stage with the Australian
legend".
Interestingly, South African all-rounder, Jacques Kallis,
did not celebrate Ponting's catch in the slip. Instead, he rushed to shake
Ponting's hand, with hat removed.
"The action of Kallis did not surprise me", Keith
Richardson, his one-time Head Master at Wynberg Boys' High School said
exclusviely from Cape Town. "Kallis and Ponting are friends and rivals and
both have immense respect for one another’s ability. They came onto the
national stage of their respective countries at roughly the same time and have
similar batting records. Their careers have been intertwined and it is fitting
that it ended in this way", he added.
Ponting's farewell has been compared with Don Bradman's by
former Australian opener, Arthur Morris. In fact, Morris, who watched Ponting's
farewell on television at his Sydney home, was at the non-striker's end when
Don Bradman was bowled for a duck by Eric Hollies in the fifth Ashes Test at
the Oval in 1948. Bradman needed only four runs to finish with a career magical
Test average of 100.
"Both farewells were marvellous. I scored 196 runs in
that Test, but people still remember Bradman, who played only innings in the
Test. God knows how many he would have scored in the second innings...",
Morris concluded.
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