Ricky Ponting, the former Australia captain, is not in talks with Cricket Australia about joining the national team as a batting consultant.
Following Australia’s surrender of the Ashes with a pair of meek batting displays at Edgbaston and Trent Bridge, there has been much speculation about Ponting being called up to work alongside the nation’s young players as a batting consultant.
However Ponting, who returned home to Australia following an Ashes commentary stint in the UK that ended with the Trent Bridge Test, said he had not engaged any formal discussions with CA and was, for the moment, otherwise committed to his job as Mumbai Indians coach, family, commentary and charity work.
“I’ve had no formal discussions with Cricket Australia about a role,” Ponting said. “I have always said that one day I would like to get more involved with the young batters around the country but at the moment I’m fully committed to my family, my coaching job at Mumbai, commentary and sponsor commitments and the Ponting Foundation.”
The team’s performance manager, Pat Howard, who speaks regularly with Ponting about the game, had told News Ltd that they discussed the possibility earlier this year.
“We have spoken to Ricky a few times this year to be around the side,” Howard had said. “I am certainly very open to getting him involved and we would love to have him on board. I sense Ricky would also love to be involved. His time commitments are obviously one of the big challenges.”
The relentless international schedule has been a stumbling block for numerous former greats getting directly involved with the Australian team in recent times. The likes of Shane Warne, Steve Waugh, Glenn McGrath and Adam Gilchrist have been engaged by the coach Darren Lehmann to speak to the players, but none have been able to commit to anything more substantial than that.
