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 defeating the West Indies in the final. He played in all the following ODIs against Pakistan, which Australia won 3–0. In the final match, Ponting scored 124 not out from 129 balls, as Australia chased down 316 with six wickets to spare. He finished the series with 215 runs at 107.50. When the Australians returned for the home series against England, Ponting was "in the worst run-scoring groove in his first-class career." Nevertheless, he was recalled in place of Lehmann, despite the latter's form in Pakistan. This was explained on the basis of "horses for courses"; it was reasoned that