Ricky Ponting made it! Tassie's batting star will play in his first Test." Marsh continued his praise of Ponting, who replaced a dropped Blewett. "I have no doubt Ricky will be trying to get 100 in his first Test game. And I hope he does. You'd back him to. If Ricky carries with him the same attitude that he has seen him succeed at First-class cricket to the next level there is no reason why he will not continue to score." Sri Lanka batted first and scored 251, before Ponting—batting at number five due to Steve Waugh's absence through injury—arrived at the
Ricky Ponting with the Australian cricket team in India in 2008–09 wicket partnership, helping Australia reach a meagre 268. In the home-side's second innings, Ponting was criticised for using part-timers against the free-scoring Indian batsmen after he was informed that he was five overs behind the required over rate, which is penalisable by a fine, or in severe instances, a ban to the captain. This meant that he was not able to use pace spearhead Brett Lee significantly. A long discussion between Lee and Ponting prompted media allegations of a team rift, something Ponting denied. "It seems like there are people trying to make a bit more of that than what