Early life of Ricky Ponting Shield cricket this year and all of a sudden there's talk in the papers that I'm a chance go on an Australian tour of England. I think it's way out of reach — there are blokes like [South Australian] Jamie Siddons who have scored 20 or 30 first-class centuries who are ahead of me. Nevertheless, Shipperd thought Ponting could handle the experience: "A lot of attention affects different people in different ways, but Ricky is such a well-rounded young fella that it hasn't changed him. I've told him to enjoy the all the attention and if he just keeps on
Ricky Ponting two warm-up matches against Zimbabwe and England on 28 February without Brett Lee because of ankle damage. In the first warmup game against Zimbabwe, Ponting scored just 2 in Australia's 106 run victory. In Australia's second and last warm up game, this time against England, Ponting again failed to make an impact, scoring just 7 before he was bowled by off-spinner Jamie Dalrymple. Australia started its World Cup campaign with three group matches played at Warner Park, St Kitts. Ponting himself began successfully with an innings of 113 from 93 deliveries that included five sixes, as Australia were dominant in