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equatorThere are many different kinds of hundred.
The attritional, the lucky, the captain’s, the rearguard, the gritty, the match winning, the match saving, the effortless, and heaps more.
You can add a new one to the list, “the fuck you hundred”.
That is what Ricky Ponting makes. They are a middle finger to any doubters he has, to the opposition if they get on his nerves, and to the media who is questioning his boys.
It is his way of screaming fuck you; an artist uses his brush, a singer uses his throat and Ricky uses the bat.
It comes from pure frustration and anger, but usually look good to those who watch.
They are also so predictable.
Australia know they need something special in India, and everyone knows Ponting struggles there, fuck you hundred.
Australia puts in their worst performance for a long time at Perth against the saffas, the next test in Melbourne Ponting hits another fuck you to try and drag his team out of the shit.
Australia loses to India in Perth and Ponting pulls out the fuck you hundred for Adelaide.
Ricky hasn’t hit 2 hundreds in a series since the last Ashes (06/07 not 05, incase you were confused), his form in that time has been patchy.
The one constant is him making hundreds that are just determined and angry, there is a malice behind them, fuck everyone who doesn’t believe in my team.
They are scowling hundreds, aggressive hundreds, and doggedly determined.
And if you think I am reading too much into it, check the series that he hasn’t made a hundred in of recent times. None against New Zealand, Australia won, none against South Africa away, Australia won.
Both of those tours went smoothly, but if Australia is losing, looking like losing, or something pisses Ponting off, the Fuck you comes out.
They don’t always look the same, the hundreds in Melbourne and Adelaide were a middle finger to the world, and the knocks in Bangalore and Cardiff were of a man who wasn’t going out until his job was done.
From the moment Ricky came to the wicket he looked like he was going to get a country, he had the fuck you feeling in him, and he wanted to give it to the English.
It seems that Ricky needs that anger to fire him up these days.
If Australia goes on to win these Ashes comfortably it wouldn’t surprise me if Ponting didn’t make another ton.
His days of being a run machine are behind him, but he still has a few more fuck you innings in him.
Glorious. You forgot about about the two fuck you hundreds he scored in one match against the West Indies in Brisbane, a few months after Australia lost The Ashes in 2005 and everyone was calling for him to be sacked and Warne to take over as captain. Then there was the fuck you hundred he scored in Melbourne against South Africa in 2005 after everyone was bitching at him for not declaring earlier against South Africa in Perth so Brad Hodge could get his double ton. That was followed one test later by another fuck you hundred in each innings in Sydney to seal the series. I’d also classify his 196 in Brisbane against England in 06 a fuck you hundred after Botham called his team Dad’s Army and said they were all over the hill and couldn’t regain the Ashes. So yeah, that’s all he does.
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I bet his next hundred will be a fuck you Allan Border one. It will be the one that gets him above Captain Grumpy’s 11174. And a fuck you to Allan Border for his (understandable) criticism of Ponting’s captaincy in India.
Just for these fuckyou hundred does one feel that he is a better asset to the team than Lara and Tendulkar were. Thats it, I have commited sacrilage.
Ricky Ponting is an extremely good batsman, sorry a great batsman.And most likely will end up with max centuries and max runs in test cricket when he retires.
But I would still rate him behind Sachin, Lara, and Inzamam.
Ponting is Australia’s Rahul Dravid. People say the Kiwis are over achievers as a team.I feel some of the Aussies we have seen over the years are overachievers as individuals.Ponting is the best among such over achievers.And his ‘fuck you’ centuries are proof of that attribute.
Truly among the greatest players.But I wonder how many Aussies would pick him at No.3 spot in the All Time Aussie X1.
don’t agree, Jrod. It’s Katich who is the real “fuck you” scorer. He even shouts it out.
Ponting is actually more complex, would you believe, cause he’s both batsmen and captain – different motives, you know..
Dhananjay Mhatre,
What asset were/are Tendulkar and Lara to their teams? To their nations, to their countries, to their gods, yes.
But not to their teams.
Ponting is an asset to his team. But not to anyone else.
Except corporate Australia who rate him above all other sportsmen in the country.
@Steve : About Ponting not being an asset toanyone else, sure he has his faults. He is a shit captain who cannot even control his over rates when Lee is bowling (the copout in the fourth Test in India is unforgiveable). However as a batsman, he is among the greatest. Simply becase heclicks when the team needs it (leave aside the fact that the team at times needs him because of his goof ups while captaining).
Tendulkar and Lara are great batsmen and tremendous assets to their teams. However when it comes to actually making runs when it matters, I would rate Ponting slightly higher.
And JRod,to add to the fuck you hundreds, how can one forget his great inning in the third Test of the Ashes. Great rearguard innings from a man who people used to think is too aggressive to save a match.
*third Test of Ashes 2005.
I sense another fuck you coming up, one tailor made for Thommo.
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The century yesterday was inevitable. I dont understand why some people have started arguing and comparing instead of celebrating his performance. I am an Indian and a Sachin fan but it doesnt mean that I cannot enjoy cricket sans Sachin. To all Ponting bashers in the comment section, get a life and dont pollute this place if you dont like it. I am sick of non stop comparisons wherever a Tendulkar record is challenged.
first of all, since when is being any country’s rahul dravid a bad thing?
i’d take dravid over tendulkar any fucking day. especially in terms of being an asset to his team.
secondly, it is unfair that a lot of people try and dismiss records set by the aussie batsmen cuz they never had to face the best bowlers of their era. i agree that hayden may not be as good as his average suggests, but the punter needs to be acknowledged now. he’s pleasing on the eyes, he’s got a million runs, and most importantly, he will always, always rise to the occasion.
as far as his captaincy goes, i would say that he is miles ahead, despite his general shittiness, than lara, sachin or inzi in terms of captaincy. it’s not saying much considering how they all went, but that’s how it is.
Great can of worms you’ve opened up here. Now all the pissy little comments are coming out from ungracious fuckwits.
38 fuck you’s not bad eh. How many has Dravid? What’s his strike rate? Overachiever? are you on drugs. If you overachieve to get 38 fucking centuries then you aren’t overachieving you are just operating at a fucking higher level than some assbandits think your true level is.
Open up your fucking mind, look past the colour of his skin (and his hirsuteness) or his nationality or his mathematical ability and admit it. He’s fucking good.
And yeah Bradman is still the best fuckers.
Dhananjay Mhatre
you mistake me. I’m not down on Ponting. It’s the highest praise. To me, being an asset to your team, especially when you are captain, is THE most important thing in a team sport.
An asset is a valuable. He’s far more valuable to his team, than Tendulkar or Lara ever were to theirs, for all sorts of reasons, but esp. because Ponting sees himself as the ultimate team man, which I really doubt the other two are.
This is not about how good he is as a batsman. It’s about his value, temwise. After all, 12th man, or the mascot can be major assets.
Steve
Point taken.
PDP, I left out the 05 one as well.
Kumar, since Bradman batted at 3 it would be hard to slip Ponting in. Although I did. http://www.cricketwithballs.com/2007/11/02/best-aussie-eleven-ever/
I am sure the English will take a couple more fuck you hundreds if the series results end mirroring the South African and Indian ones.
H, I don’t think England will be happy if Australia wins two one like they did against India.
UJ,
Didnt Australia lose 2-0 when he scored his last fuck you hundred versus India or did that series not happen?
Cheers,
H, You said mirror the India ones, I was pretty sure there was two series.
Well, he’s going to get the records for sure. Fuck you sachin, he’ll say then
Well, thank god there’s only one harbhajan in world crickewt, then!
2nd Slip… funny shit and spot on… we still got Bradman and nobody’s come close since.