At the Close of Play
Love him or loathe him, Ricky Ponting is one of the biggest names in cricket, having been at the heart of so many memorable Ashes and Test encounters over the years. Coinciding with the end of Ponting’s spectacular career, ‘At the Close of Play’ is a must-read for all cricket fans.For so long the scourge of English cricket, Ricky Ponting – unarguably one of cricket’s all-time greats – looks back on the story of his remarkable life and career.With his customary honesty and candour, Ponting reflects on a lifetime at the crease – from childhood prodigy to the highs and lows of his extraordinary international career.But beyond the triumphs, scandals and his own private struggle to maintain his later form, this remarkable autobiography will offer rare insights into an elite sporting career with Ricky’s reflections on leadership, captaincy, winning, defeat, competitiveness, teamwork, the greats of the game and the lessons learned at the helm of Australia’s cricket team.This autobiography, of a very private man, and one who the English public loved to hate, will resonate with lovers of cricket as well as anyone who strives to reach the top of their chosen field.
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HarperCollinsPublishers 77-85 Fulham Palace Road, Hammersmith, London W6 8JB
First published by HarperCollinsPublishers 2013
FIRST EDITION
© Ricky Ponting and Geoff Armstrong 2013
Thematic features © Ricky Ponting and James Henderson 2013
A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library
The Publishers acknowledge the trademarks of Cricket Australia in these pages and where used note that they have been reproduced with the approval of Cricket Australia
Ricky Ponting and Geoff Armstrong assert their moral right to be identified as the authors of this work
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Source ISBN: 9780007544752
Ebook Edition © NOVEMBER 2013 ISBN: 9780007544776
Version: 2014-07-23
For my beautiful wife Rianna and our gorgeous children Emmy and Matisse
And for Mum, Dad, Drew and Renee
Thanks to you all for always being there for me
Copyright
Insights
Giving back
My routine
Prologue Invermay Park
1. THE FIRST INNINGS
1 Backyard Cricket
2 Playing with Dad
3 Out of Tasmania
4 Punter
5 In the Company of Boonie
6 An Angry Young Man
7 Making the Team
8 Retaliate First
9 The Hundred That Got Away
10 Best Seat in the House
11 High Security
12 Dropped
13 Hope Builds, Fear Destroys
2. AT THE CREASE
14 Solidarity Forever
15 I’m Not Going, I’m Staying
16 Betting Rings and Broken Helmets
17 The Wrong Place at the Wrong Time
18 Starting Over
19 Mateship Matters
20 Team First
21 Good Versus Great
22 Turning Pro
23 From Harbhajan to Headingley
24 Love Comes to Town
25 Three Amigos
3. AT THE HELM
26 Captain and Player
27 Swimming Between the Flags
28 Leading Our Defence of the World Cup
29 One Game After Another
30 Character
31 Doing the Right Thing
32 The Last Frontier
33 Playing with Brian
34 Behind the Times
35 Helmet On, Helmet Off
36 Resurgence
37 Test Century
38 No Fear
39 Mind Games
40 Getting Dizzy
41 Ugly Australians?
42 Ashes Regained
43 Most Tough Guys Cry
44 WC2007
45 Good Times
46 Zero Tolerance
47 Irreplaceable
48 Over-Rated
49 Last Man Standing
50 The Old Boy
51 Six Days in Potchefstroom
52 Public Enemy No. 1
53 Mug or Magician
4. AT THE CLOSE OF PLAY
54 Tactics and Tweets
55 Execution
56 Punted Out
57 Something New
58 Under Pressure
59 Matisse
60 Edge of the Abyss
61 Thanks for the Memories
62 It’s Time
63 End of the Journey
Epilogue Winding Down
CAREER RECORD
Picture Section
List of Searchable Terms
Acknowledgments
Final word
About the Publisher
How the Ponting Foundation makes a difference
The Ponting Foundation is dedicated to doing everything possible to help young Australians and their families beat cancer.
It provides funding for a wide range of essential services that comfort and nurture young Australians with cancer, while providing emotional support and financial assistance for their family.
Through alliances with some of Australia’s leading cancer charities and research groups, Ricky has used his profile to influence widespread community engagement to raise important incremental funds for specific charity programs, hospitals and ground-breaking research projects engaged in the fight against cancer in Australia’s children and youth.
