33 going on 50

NEW DELHI, June 15: If you get a motorbike for being man of the match, what do you get for being man of the moment? Merely an audience left pleasantly surprised. But so be it for Ricky Ponting.
On Friday, while launching a private bank's
latest offering, as he played the role of a celebrity, he was just that. And more. He smiled - that's a Ponting you don't see too often on the field.
He looked smiley.He sounded smiley. He
acted smiley. There was only one pause, and it was for effect. Asked if he could score 50 Test centuries, he simply replied: "50 is attainable."
The pause was also because everything that 32-year-old Ponting does with the bat "over the next five years" - the time he gives himself till pack-up - could turn into a record-breaking statistic. “We'll play around 20 Tests in 2008, so I should score a few centuries during that period. I'll need a bit of luck but given that I score three to four centuries per year over the next five years, 50 centuries is attainable."
Like all cricketers, Ponting tries to convey the impression that he is not interested in statistics, until there's a set of figures that he'd like to let you know about. Like when it's pointed out to him that Sachin Tendulkar, with 37 Test centuries to his 33, is four-up on him. "Brian Lara is flashy outside the off-stump and always gives you a chance. I've always said Sachin is the best batsman I've played against. He has sound technique and, when things are going right for him, he can tear apart any attack."
A lot of searching is needed to find out who is perfectly suited to be your coach - someone who thinks outside the square, constantly challenges the players. Cricket Australia had been looking for Buchanan's replacement for at least a couple of years.If you thought that Ponting took himself a bit too seriously, this compliment to a competitor - even
though it comes from him in Tendulkar country - might still change your view of the Australian captain. And yet, no one could have accused Ponting of not strutting his own stuff. Even when he was busy gritting his teeth in between that smile. "Australians are able to keep the opposition under pressure for a longer time than others. When you do that, something's gotta give. We love the big occasion. We want to show the world how good we are at the game we love.
"The best way to keep momentum going is to attack. Be aggressive and stick to your gameplan even when you have lost wickets. If you go into a shell and lose your wicket, your team won't be going anywhere."
In a land notorious for its periodically-imposed gag orders on cricketers, Ponting in his Friday avatar, enthusiastically dispensing team info, didn't require hard sell.
"I'd expect Michael Clarke to step in when I'm done as captain. On the field, he's always making suggestions. But he's a bit of a laugh-and-joke guy and tells me that he'll retire the same day that I do!
"Shane Warne is the toughest competitor that I know. Contrary to public perception, he's a very easy guy to deal with. The player most difficult to deal with is Andrew Symonds. He likes going out and enjoying himself. His watch is always running late and you'll always find him late for the team bus." That's two dressing-room secrets less for Australia and there still won't be any rifts in the team.
<#img src="/photo/2126977.cms" alt="/photo/2126977.cms" border="0" />There will be a big hole for India if Sachin, Dravid, Kumble, Ganguly and Laxman leave the game at the same time. The Aussie selectors handled this very well - whenever there was a group of players on the verge of retirement, they brought on youngsters regularly.<#img src="/photo/2126979.cms" alt="/photo/2126979.cms" border="0" />Ponting brings ruthlessness to the batting crease but here, away from his workplace, this discipline deserted him. Here, he had strayed outside the white chalk lines. There was no ruthlessness. Only a strap-on smile. And words.
"You don't need motivation to play cricket for your country; if you do, you shouldn't be playing. Success is about reiteration. Just repeat what brought you success in the past.
"I've learnt to separate my roles as captain and batsman. When I took over from Steve Waugh, he told me to be the best batsman that I could be without worrying too much about how the other blokes were doing."
Throughout, his tone was firm, not defensive. He was ever making a point, never taking a stance. Ponting was again the star of his own show.
This softer, smiling image... despite the PR face of his role as Australian celebrity product promoter in India, was this the real Ponting?
Maybe. But few in sport so embody the oddity of being simultaneously affable and arrogant. Just as the audience was sneakily enjoying his rare brush with humility, and rising along with the corporate honchos to mark his exit from the stage, Ponting of the smile - as always in the past - was the last man standing.
That should silence the critics.