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 Ponting resigned his position as captain at both Test and ODI levels, endorsed Michael Clarke as his successor, and indicated his intention to continue playing. In 2011, Ponting was inducted into Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) 'Best of the Best'. He was selected in Michael Clarke's teams for the tours of Sri Lanka and South Africa in 2011, scoring an important half-century (62) in the fourth innings of the second Test against South Africa in Johannesburg, helping Australia chase down a target of 310 to draw the series 1–1. In the 2011–12 Australian summer, a disappointing series draw with New