Former captain Ricky Ponting says he’ll quit Test cricket before he’s dropped from the Australian team, but is not considering retirement at the moment.
The 36-year-old veteran of 156 Tests told reporters on Friday, “I totally understand why I’m being asked the questions I’m being asked but, by the same token, I believe I’m good enough, one, to be in the team and that I’m good enough to win games for Australia.
He said he if he keeps doing the work he doing and not getting the results, “then maybe it’s time but, at the moment, I don’t feel that time is here just yet.”
Ponting made 62 in the second innings of Australia’s second Test against South Africa this week to contribute to its series-levelling win and end a long from drought which had led to calls for his retirement.
He said he took heart from the examples of India’s Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid who’s longevity showed he could still expect to perform at Test level.
“I feel there’s enough there to want to keep working hard,” Ponting said. “Having spoken to a lot of the other guys that have retired in the last few years — I was captain when Langer, Gilchrist, Warne and all those guys stood down — so I know the things that were going through their minds.
“What they said about it was they just didn’t have the drive or desire to work as hard as they needed to work to get their games back on track again. With me, there’s no doubting that at all.”
