Ricky Ponting’s 156 against England in 2005 is No.3 in Wisden’s Test innings of the 2000s. Aadya Sharma recalls the gritty Ashes masterclass.
Ricky Ponting 156 (275 balls)
England v Australia, third Test, Ashes 2005
Old Trafford, Manchester
August 11-15, 2005
Steve Waugh billed it Ricky Ponting’s graduation to Test captaincy. For a skipper with an unmatched Test record, Ponting’s magnum opus, surprisingly, came in a draw, but it was his remarkable tenacity that single-handedly kept the 2005 Ashes level after the third Test.
In a near-seven-hour effort, Ponting first endured the storm, then rode it, playing out 275 deliveries against a pack of raging English seamers, even making Australia’s unlikely pursuit of 423 look like a possibility at one stage.
On a dry fifth-day pitch, Ponting spent the first half of his 156-run marathon switching between his defensive and expressive styles, riding the swing as late as he dared. The challenge was thrown at England when, on 14, he clattered a flat six off a Flintoff bumper, an imperial thwack that carried the sonorous sound of a metal gong, and set the juices flowing.
Running out of partners after Shane Warne’ handy knock ended, Ponting decided to slug it out. And then, with less than five overs to go, an uncharacteristic blip in focus saw him glove behind a Harmison bumper. A distraught captain trudged back, convinced that he had thrown the game, but Australia survived dramatically, living to fight another day in the series.
That day, even his staunchest critics would have marvelled at Ponting’s resilience in distress.
