Australia Cricket / Frank Gregan / 07 November 2011 /

Is Ricky Ponting approaching the end? asks Frank Gregan. Maybe but when the great Punter finally hangs up his green cap, the rest of us should celebrate his magnificent career.

Ricky Ponting is in the autumn of a fantastic career but now the trees are bare, the frost is on the ground, snow is about to fall and winter looks to be just around the corner. There are a lot of respected judges who think that should Punter not get the runs that his own high standards demand during this tour of South Africa then it could be his last.

Ponting, diminutive in stature, is a giant of the game. The old saying, "You're a long time dead in sport," applies here. The Tasmanian is desperate to play at the highest level for as long as possible. The danger is that he might go on too long like the punch-drunk boxer who doesn't know when to call it a day. He owes it to himself to go out at the top, his career has had loads of highs and, of course, the odd low too.

Remember the fourth Test during the 2005 Ashes series when he was dismissed by a Pratt - Gary Pratt? Punter was not a happy teddy as he trudged off having been run out by the zillionth substitute fielder England had used during the series. Ponting did some pointing wand aimed a few four letter words at England coach Duncan Fletcher. It was a defining moment when the red mist descended, fired by passion and pressure, and showed the world that Australia and their captain could be got at. He could not then have imagined what a curse in an otherwise magnificent career the Ashes would become. Ponting will always be remembered as the only Australian captain since the 19th century to lose three Ashes series. That's an incredibly harsh pronouncement on a career that has achieved so much.

Prior to 2005, the Aussies under Ponting had dominated world cricket. They were ruthless bullies, incredibly talented and they never missed an opportunity to crush an opponent. They were feared, envied but most of all they were respected and in Ricky Ponting they found a skipper who could handle some of the biggest egos in the game and get the best from them.

His individual contribution was massive, he won three consecutive World Cups, winning more than 30 consecutive World Cup matches, 25 of them as skipper. He was at the helm as Australia won 16 consecutive Test matches and has won more ODIs and Test matches as a captain than any other player. A tremendous record.

If South Africa is to be his last tour then he deserves to be remembered for all the right reasons. His transgressions when compared to his honours are minuscule, he has taken a heap of stick throughout the world over the years (usually in England) but, with a couple of exceptions, he took it all on the chin and didn't rise to the bait.

South Africa are [2.9] to get off to a flying start when the first Test gets underway on Wednesday with the draw at [2.8] and Australia a very generous [3.35]. If Ponting fires with the bat, talk of retirement will have been premature and that price will look ridiculously big in hindsight.

Instead of remembering a snarling Ricky Ponting, the scowling ungracious mongrel that the English media liked to portray, when Punter eventually puts away his baggy green we should remember a fantastically talented skipper who was a fair and dignified opponent. Testament to that is Gary Pratt's account of what happened when Ponting caught up with him at the end of the 2005 series.

"I sat and had a few beers with him after the Oval Test, he never mentioned the incident, just said, 'Well done and good luck.' He was a pretty nice, genuine guy, pretty magnanimous."

That just about sums up Punter, a great player and a great guy.

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