Axed Ponting looks ready for retirement

FORMER Australia captain Ricky Ponting could be set to call time on his international career after his axing from the one-day side.

Ponting, 37, was yesterday omitted from the squad for the Commonwealth Bank Series matches against India and Sri Lanka after a poor run of form – he made just 18 runs from five innings – and immediately called a press conference in Sydney for this morning at which he is expected to outline his future plans.

National selector John Inverarity said of Ponting: “Ricky is going to consider his future over the next couple of days. He made a double-century in his last Test match and we are hoping he remains available for Test cricket, but there can be no guarantees.”

Ponting is one of Australia’s greatest players. He has played 162 Tests, scoring 13,200 runs at an average of 53.44. On the one-day stage he has played in 375 games for his country, scoring 13,704 runs at an average of 42.

“The team will not seem the same without him, but moving on from the omission of players who have been outstanding over a long period of time is the nature of elite sport,” added Inverarity.