Ricky Ponting is confident he will recover from injury in time to make his final appearance in a competitive cricket match in England tonight.
Ponting could not play for Surrey against Middlesex at Lord’s last night, which would have been his last game at the home of cricket, because of a groin injury sustained in a recent Friends Life t20 match against Hampshire.
But the former captain of Australia was today given an 85 per cent chance of shaking off the injury to take on Kent at The Kia Oval tonight, for which there is expected to be another sell-out crowd.
Surrey’s win at Lord’s means another victory tonight would push them to the brink of qualification for the quarter-finals of the domestic T20 tournament, and would provide a fitting send-off for Ponting as he brings his two-month spell to an end.
Ponting will retire from all cricket in October. After he leaves Surrey, the 38-year-old will play in the Caribbean Premier League, another T20 franchise competition, before representing Mumbai Indians in the Champions League in the autumn. Unless he has a sudden change of heart, that will be Ponting’s swansong.
Even though Surrey’s results have not improved dramatically since Ponting arrived in May, his record during his short time has been outstanding.
In his final first-class innings, Ponting scored an unbeaten 169 at The Oval to ensure Surrey avoided defeat against Nottinghamshire. It was his second century for the county and he leaves them with an average of 123 after four Championship matches.
Meanwhile, some of Ponting’s former Australia team-mates were taking on Sussex in a tour match at Hove today. The three-day game should give the selectors a better idea of what changes they need to make for the Third Investec Test next week. England lead the five-match series 2-0 and will retain the Ashes if they avoid defeat at Old Trafford.
