Michael http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Clarke-c51120 ‘proud’ at surpassing Ricky Ponting’s record – Cricket News Update
A proud Australian skipper, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/RT-Ponting-c2377’s record of scoring the most runs in a calendar year.
Clarke achieved the feat during day 2 of the ongoing Test against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758, where he notched up his fifth Test century of the year, enroute to amassing a whopping 1595 calendar runs. Though it is the first time he has failed to turn his hundred into at least a double – the previous scores being 329, 210, 259 not-out and 230 – his knock nonetheless, cemented his side’s position in the match.
After resuming from his overnight score of 20, Pup again showed sublime form to extend his stand with Vice-captain http://www.senore.com/Cricket/SR-Watson-c2558 to 194, before the late-order chipped in to stretch the overall lead to 284 before the close of play.
His record breaking feat helped him overhaul Ponting’s individual tally of 1544, which the veteran accomplished in 2005. Clarke clearly gave little importance to the numbers but expressed his contentment after overtaking Punter’s record.
"It's very special, I didn't know it at the time, I didn't know how many runs I needed," he said."To me Ricky Ponting's one of the all-time great players Australia's ever had, so to beat http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Ricardo-Gouveia-c84824 at anything is a fantastic achievement. I'm very proud."
Of all the runs he has scored over the years, it was Pup’s first century at the MCG, a surprise statistic, given his imperious form. In total, he has played 8 Tests here since his first in 2004, scoring 471 runs at 42.81. His previous best at this ground was in 2008, where he notched up an unbeaten 88 against the Proteas.
"It's nice to get that http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Holly-Louise-Colvin-c63292 off my back, that's for sure. There was a little bit in the paper in the few days leading up to this Test making it clear that I hadn't scored a hundred [at the MCG]. It's certainly something that's been on my mind for a while now considering it's a beautiful ground and I love playing in Melbourne."
Clarke and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Nathan-Michael-Lyon-c78822 currently occupy the crease on 73 and 0 respectively.
Tags: