Ricky Ponting to have surgery on finger he fractured during third Test

Published on Monday 3 January 2011 16:09

RICKY Ponting is to have surgery on the fractured finger he suffered during the third Ashes Test in Perth.

Ponting suffered the injury when he parried a catch from second slip to wicketkeeper Brad Haddin to dismiss England's Jonathan Trott late on day three at the WACA.

Australia won that Test to square the series at 1-1 and Ponting then played in the Boxing Day Test at Melbourne which England won easily to lead 2-1 and retain the Ashes.

Ponting then withdrew from the final Test because of the injury and Cricket Australia yesterday confirmed he was to undergo surgery on the little finger on his left hand.

Ponting had hoped to play in the final Test in Sydney, which started on yesterday, but, after an X-ray, was ruled out. With Michael Clarke taking over the captaincy in his absence the future looks uncertain for Ponting. He has had a difficult series and faces the prospect of being the only Australia captain to oversee three Ashes series defeats.

An often controversial figure, he was fined 40 per cent of his match fee after being found guilty of breaching the International Cricket Council's code of conduct in relation to his row with umpire Aleem Dar during the fourth Test.

Ponting was involved in a lengthy confrontation with Dar after an appeal for caught behind against Kevin Pietersen was rejected, first by Dar and then by the TV umpire following a referral. Ponting later apologised.

Cricket Australia physiotherapist Alex Kountouris said: "Ricky had further X-rays today on his fractured finger which have shown that the bone fragment has further displaced and will not heal without surgery. As such Ricky will have surgery tomorrow."