Ricky Ponting scored 17 in the first innings and 20 not out in the second, as a storm prevented an Australian victory. After winning the toss and electing to bat in the First Test in Kingston, Jamaica, Ponting recorded his 35th Test century and was eventually dismissed for 158 from 224 balls. Despite forcing their way back into contention, the West Indies were defeated by 95 runs. In the Second Test, Ponting became the seventh player and third Australian to score 10,000 Test runs. It took Ponting 118 Tests and 196 innings to achieve the feat, one slower than Tendulkar and Lara.
Ricky Ponting the leading scorer for the series, compiling 375 runs at 125.00. He brought this form into the initial stages of the following 1999–2000 Carlton United ODI series, hitting 32 and 115, before three consecutive ducks. Ponting, however, ended the rut towards the back end of the series, stringing together 53, 43, 33, 50 and 78, as Australia won the tournament. Along with his impressive average of 40.4, Ponting's strike rate (87.06) was the highest of all recognised Australian batsmen. Perhaps more importantly, Ponting was selected as temporary vice-captain when Shane Warne was unavailable through injury, strengthening his claim for future