It's the cover drive that really matters

Apologies to my one reader for the absence. Plenty of others have talked at length about what's going on in the world at large, so I'll just have my quick say on Ricky Ponting and be done with it.

His double century against Pakistan appears to have convinced a lot of pundits once again that he is the best #3 going today, and back on track to go down as one of the all-time greats. Frankly, Peter Roebuck's assertion that Adam Gilchrist bats like Sir Garfield Sobers is more credible.

Ponting is undoubtedly a quality batsman, but he has a massive blot on his record, one that will be hard to shake, and yet is often glossed over by the critics. He averages an scarcely credible 12.28 in India, after 8 Test matches there. He may not ever have an opportunity to rectify that, and even if he does, he's going to need to score a century every time he bats to get that average up into the 40 region. Not likely.

Eight years ago, I watched a batsman named Rahul Dravid score 3, 4, 3 and 11 in his first four ODI outings. I was ridiculed when I asserted after watching those knocks that this was a world class batsman in the making. Today, it is he, not Ponting, who is the premier #3 batsman in world cricket, and in fact arguably the best batsman going, bar none. I say this mostly to illustrate that much like a stopped clock, I am occasionally proven to be correct. I'm still waiting on Ramnaresh Sarwan to provide an encore.

Back on topic, there is one thing I must concede as regards Ricky Ponting. Sadly for this fan, he has indeed proven himself to be a better batsman than Greg Blewett.

Not a more elegant cover driver, though.