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Ponting flies back for birth of his child
Galle: Ricky Ponting will not feature in the Australian side for the second Test against Sri Lanka as he is heading home for the birth of his second child.
Cricket Australia's National Selection Panel (NSP) has named left-hand batsman David Warner as a replacement for Ponting, who was member of the team that won the first Test by 125 runs here on Saturday.
"Warner will join the Australian Test squad in Sri Lanka as a standby player for Ricky Ponting, who is returning to Australia tonight for the birth of his second child," said Cricket Australia in a statement.
"Ponting will miss the second Test of Australia's VB Tour of Sri Lanka and plans to return in time for the third and final Test of the series in Colombo. Warner will fly to Sri Lanka as soon as possible and remain with the squad until Ponting returns from Australia," the statement added.
The Australian squad will travel from Galle to Kandy Monday with the second Test beginning at Pallekelle Stadium on Thursday.
Galle: Ricky Ponting will not feature in the Australian side for the second Test against Sri Lanka as he is heading home for the birth of his second child.
Cricket Australia's National Selection Panel (NSP) has named left-hand batsman David Warner as a replacement for Ponting, who was member of the team that won the first Test by 125 runs here on Saturday.
"Warner will join the Australian Test squad in Sri Lanka as a standby player for Ricky Ponting, who is returning to Australia tonight for the birth of his second child," said Cricket Australia in a statement.
"Ponting will miss the second Test of Australia's VB Tour of Sri Lanka and plans to return in time for the third and final Test of the series in Colombo. Warner will fly to Sri Lanka as soon as possible and remain with the squad until Ponting returns from Australia," the statement added.
The Australian squad will travel from Galle to Kandy Monday with the second Test beginning at Pallekelle Stadium on Thursday.
Ponting celebrates 100 Test wins
Galle: Ricky Ponting became the first cricketer to play in 100 Test wins after Australia defeated Sri Lanka by 125 runs in the first Test in Galle on Saturday.
The former skipper, 36, was already Test cricket's most successful captain with 48 wins when he stepped down in April to make way for Michael Clarke.
Ponting, who made his Test debut in 1995, has so far played 153 matches and his 12,411 runs make him the world's third-highest run-getter, behind the Indian duo of Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid.
"His longevity in the game is amazing," said Clarke after Saturday's match. "For about eight or nine of our squad it was the first Test win, and here was Punter (Ponting) with his 100th."
"He has played a hell of a lot of games, captained a hell of a lot of games and won a hell of a lot of games. Just an amazing cricketer."
But Ponting will miss the second Test in Pallekele from September 8 to go home for the birth of his second child. However, he is expected to return for the final match in Colombo from September 16.
The seven cricketers who have been part of most Test wins are all Australians, and have all been Ponting's teammates at some stage.
List of players with most Test victories (name, wins):
Ricky Ponting - 100
Shane Warne - 92
Steve Waugh - 86
Glenn McGrath - 84
Adam Gilchrist - 73
Mark Waugh - 72
Matthew Hayden - 71
Galle: Ricky Ponting became the first cricketer to play in 100 Test wins after Australia defeated Sri Lanka by 125 runs in the first Test in Galle on Saturday.
The former skipper, 36, was already Test cricket's most successful captain with 48 wins when he stepped down in April to make way for Michael Clarke.
Ponting, who made his Test debut in 1995, has so far played 153 matches and his 12,411 runs make him the world's third-highest run-getter, behind the Indian duo of Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid.
"His longevity in the game is amazing," said Clarke after Saturday's match. "For about eight or nine of our squad it was the first Test win, and here was Punter (Ponting) with his 100th."
"He has played a hell of a lot of games, captained a hell of a lot of games and won a hell of a lot of games. Just an amazing cricketer."
But Ponting will miss the second Test in Pallekele from September 8 to go home for the birth of his second child. However, he is expected to return for the final match in Colombo from September 16.
The seven cricketers who have been part of most Test wins are all Australians, and have all been Ponting's teammates at some stage.
List of players with most Test victories (name, wins):
Ricky Ponting - 100
Shane Warne - 92
Steve Waugh - 86
Glenn McGrath - 84
Adam Gilchrist - 73
Mark Waugh - 72
Matthew Hayden - 71
Shaun Marsh set for debut at No. 3
Shaun Marsh will bat at No. 3 for Australia in place of the absent Ricky Ponting in the second Test in Pallekele, after Michael Clarke confirmed an otherwise unchanged XI to face Sri Lanka.
Ponting is at home for the birth of his second child, handing Marsh his chance to wear a baggy green cap. The decision to bat Marsh at No. 3 is a surprise, as it was thought that Usman Khawaja, who made his debut in Ponting's place at the SCG in January and batted at No. 6 in the first Test in Galle, would be promoted. However, Marsh has played the majority of his international cricket for Australia at the top of the order, and may be more comfortable starting against the newer ball
The Australians had few other selection questions to answer following a 125-run victory in the first Test, and their level of certainty was increased by the first glimpse of a Pallekele pitch, which looks far more conventional in its preparation and grass coverage than the Galle dustbowl.
Brad Haddin, Australia's wicketkeeper, said Marsh was ready for Test cricket after being on the Australian first-class circuit for nearly a decade. Haddin was behind the stumps for NSW in Newcastle when a 19-year-old Marsh clattered 118. He did not fulfill that promise immediately, but Haddin said he had seen plenty of development from Marsh.
"It will be disappointing to lose Ricky, but it's a good opportunity to give Shaun Marsh a crack at Test cricket," Haddin said. "He's going to be a wonderful player I think, Shaun, and I think he's ready now for Test cricket.
"He's done a lot of growing up, from a cricket point of view, in the last 24 months and we're really looking forward to him having a crack at Test cricket. I think he can be something pretty special.
"Shaun, as a person, he feels a lot more comfortable around the group now, he's been here the whole tour and I think he's really starting to understand his game. I think he's pretty close to doing some special things for Australia.
"We've seen some glimpses of it in one-day cricket for us. He's got some pretty important runs and tough runs at times, which has been good, so I'm just looking forward to him having a crack at this because he's had a long tour here, and he deserves a go."
The single change to the Australian team reflected the quality of its performance in Galle, where the bowling attack excelled in its tightness and planning, and the batsmen showed plenty of fight on a difficult pitch.
"I'm very proud of it. I think it also shows small steps forward, we're trying to move forward as a cricket team and be better cricketers," Haddin said. "To do that you've got to play in different conditions. Whether it's here, England, South Africa, wherever. You've got to make sure you're trying to get better and better so you can present yourself well on all services.
"I think it's a little tick in the box, the way we did handle ourselves throughout the whole game, and the result came out in the end. From a team point of view I think it was a very good result to get the win, especially on something so foreign to us."
Having played in numerous recent Australian teams that fell back after making a strong start to a series, Haddin was mindful of the need to keep pushing hard in Pallekele.
Source:Cricinfo
Shaun Marsh will bat at No. 3 for Australia in place of the absent Ricky Ponting in the second Test in Pallekele, after Michael Clarke confirmed an otherwise unchanged XI to face Sri Lanka.
Ponting is at home for the birth of his second child, handing Marsh his chance to wear a baggy green cap. The decision to bat Marsh at No. 3 is a surprise, as it was thought that Usman Khawaja, who made his debut in Ponting's place at the SCG in January and batted at No. 6 in the first Test in Galle, would be promoted. However, Marsh has played the majority of his international cricket for Australia at the top of the order, and may be more comfortable starting against the newer ball
The Australians had few other selection questions to answer following a 125-run victory in the first Test, and their level of certainty was increased by the first glimpse of a Pallekele pitch, which looks far more conventional in its preparation and grass coverage than the Galle dustbowl.
Brad Haddin, Australia's wicketkeeper, said Marsh was ready for Test cricket after being on the Australian first-class circuit for nearly a decade. Haddin was behind the stumps for NSW in Newcastle when a 19-year-old Marsh clattered 118. He did not fulfill that promise immediately, but Haddin said he had seen plenty of development from Marsh.
"It will be disappointing to lose Ricky, but it's a good opportunity to give Shaun Marsh a crack at Test cricket," Haddin said. "He's going to be a wonderful player I think, Shaun, and I think he's ready now for Test cricket.
"He's done a lot of growing up, from a cricket point of view, in the last 24 months and we're really looking forward to him having a crack at Test cricket. I think he can be something pretty special.
"Shaun, as a person, he feels a lot more comfortable around the group now, he's been here the whole tour and I think he's really starting to understand his game. I think he's pretty close to doing some special things for Australia.
"We've seen some glimpses of it in one-day cricket for us. He's got some pretty important runs and tough runs at times, which has been good, so I'm just looking forward to him having a crack at this because he's had a long tour here, and he deserves a go."
The single change to the Australian team reflected the quality of its performance in Galle, where the bowling attack excelled in its tightness and planning, and the batsmen showed plenty of fight on a difficult pitch.
"I'm very proud of it. I think it also shows small steps forward, we're trying to move forward as a cricket team and be better cricketers," Haddin said. "To do that you've got to play in different conditions. Whether it's here, England, South Africa, wherever. You've got to make sure you're trying to get better and better so you can present yourself well on all services.
"I think it's a little tick in the box, the way we did handle ourselves throughout the whole game, and the result came out in the end. From a team point of view I think it was a very good result to get the win, especially on something so foreign to us."
Having played in numerous recent Australian teams that fell back after making a strong start to a series, Haddin was mindful of the need to keep pushing hard in Pallekele.
Source:Cricinfo
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