Won't be retiring at the end of this Test: Ponting
Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting on Tuesday sent out a strong message to his detractors with his 41st Test century and said he won't be retiring after the Adelaide Test.
The 37-year-old, during his unbeaten 137, his sixth at the Adelaide Oval, became the third in the history of Test cricket, after India's Sachin Tendukar and Rahul Dravid, to get past 13,000 runs.
After reaching his second hundred in the series, Ponting, who went without an Test hundred in the last two years, waved the bat wildly - signalling that he has still a lot to offer to Australian cricket.
The 162-Test veteran, during the press briefing after the close of play, said he would not be retiring after the match.
"How did I know I'd come here and get asked questions about retirement," Ponting laughed at the first question of the conference.
"It was a celebration mate, I usually do a similar celebration when I score a Test match hundred. I won't be retiring at the end of this Test match," he said.
The gritty Tasmanian shrugged off the achievement of entering the elite 13,000 run club.
"It's never been about making 13,000 runs or 14,000 runs. It's about doing what I can when it's required of me to get my team through a certain situation in a game. That's what motivates me. Winning Test matches and winning games of cricket for Australia is what motivates me to keep playing," he said.
Ponting rated his unbeaten 137 better than the 134 in the second Test in Sydney, that ended his two-year Test hundred drought. Unlike, where he looked like a grafter, the Adelaide Oval saw the old aggressive Ponting, who hit 13 boundaries in five-and-a-half hours in front of 21,480 fans.
"I felt I played better today than I did in Sydney, it was probably a better wicket to bat on today, there wasn't much in it for any of the Indian bowlers. It's been a really good day for us and we have to make sure we win the first hour tomorrow and make sure this first innings is a big one, " he said.
"I'm not going to be satisfied with where I am at. You go through too many ups and downs in your career to let moments like this slip," he said.
Ponting also said that the Indian bowling attack is not poor as it is perceived.
"I don't think this is a bad attack at all, I just think our batsmen have played particularly well and when you put that kind of pressure back onto bowlers, most bowling attacks would look ordinary," he said.
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