http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Andrew-Graham-Downton-c44379 Cowan speaks out in favour of Ricky Ponting – Cricket News Update
Australian batsman, Ed Cowan, has spoken out in favour of teammate http://www.senore.com/Cricket/RT-Ponting-c2377, whose recent performances have been subjected to intense scrutiny by experts and media alike.
Ponting’s career took a downhill slide earlier this year when an unfortunate batting slump saw him axed unceremoniously from the national ODI squad, in the middle of the Commonwealth Bank series. With his limited-overs career in doubt, the 37-year-old expressed
the intent to continue with his Test career, and was included in Australia’s squad for the ongoing tour of the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/West-Indies-c760.
However, despite the fact that the veteran batsman was coming into the series fresh from a series of impressive performances in the domestic circuit (contributing scores such as 75, 130, and 111), he found himself unable to deliver during the Test series,
registering scores of 4 and 14 in the first Test, and 7 and 41 in the second.
His performances attracted intense criticism, and threw his future in the game into doubt as the pressure to deliver grew. However, the right-hander managed to turn things around in his favour as he scored a 57 in Australia’s second innings during the third
ongoing Test.
Cowan went on to point out that Ponting had been batting beautifully, and his lapses were unfairly reported by the media.
“I feel sorry for the bloke because he has been batting beautifully and again it will give ammunition to some bloody journalist back home,” he said.
“Ammunition to lampoon, but you guys have seen how well he is playing in tough conditions,” he pointed out.
The 29-year-old went on to add that performances could not be judged by scorecards and statistics alone, since the batsmen alone knew how batting on the tricky Caribbean pitches was “bloody hard work.”
He went on to express support for the elder batsman, saying he shared a special friendship with him since they both played for the same domestic side – the Tasmanian Tigers.
“I really love batting with http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Ricardo-Gouveia-c84824. I feel, maybe because we are both playing for the same domestic team,” Cowan said.
The combined contributions of Cowan (55) and Ponting (57) enabled the Aussies to take a 310-run lead on day 3 of the ongoing Test at Windsor Park, and with 4 wickets remaining, the challenge is likely to grow tougher for the home team.
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