PERTH: Cricketing great Ricky Ponting, who retired from all forms of the game after playing his last Test at Perth against South Africa, yesterday said India’s Sachin Tendulkar is the best player he has played against.
On being asked about the most supreme batsmen of his era, Ponting said: “I feel Sachin was the best player I played against and that’s coming from more of a captain’s point of view as well, knowing he had so much success against us in our conditions and their conditions.”
Ponting, who was part of three World Cup-winning squads in 1999, 2003 and 2007, having led in the latter two, said former pacers Curtly Ambrose of the West Indies and Pakistani Wasim Akram and India spinner Harbhajan Singh were the best bowlers he faced in his career.
“I think Curtly Ambrose and Wasim Akram were probably the two outstanding quicks that I faced, and for different reasons,” Ponting said.
“Ambrose for his ability to just make you feel like you couldn’t score off him for long periods of time, never felt like he was going to bowl you a bad ball.
“Akram for the exact opposite, you could get a few runs off him, but you just knew there was an unplayable ball around the corner, be it with an old ball or with a new ball.
“Harbhajan’s probably the other one who caused me as much grief as anything. He got me out a lot of times and caused me a lot of grief. Those guys through their careers can all put their hand up and say they had my measure,” said Ponting of Harbhajan, who dismissed the Tasmanian 10 times.
IANS
