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 West Indians' inevitable waist-to-chin length." During the series, Ponting said the current crop of bowlers were not "of the same high class" that opposition teams had come to expect from the West Indies. Ponting was selected for the third ODI on 12 March 1995 at Queen's Park Oval, when Mark Waugh missed out through injury. Ponting—batting at three—was involved in a 59-run partnership with Steve Waugh; however, he was dismissed for 43 when he lifted an attempted pull shot. Mark Waugh returned for the next match and Ponting was subsequently dropped until he replaced an out-of-form David Boon in the