Early life of Ricky Ponting 17-year-old batsman Academy coach Rod Marsh had ever seen. Playing five games for Tasmania in the 1992 Under–19 tournament in Perth, Ponting scored 350 runs, earning him selection in the 13-man national Under–19 development squad for the upcoming tour of South Africa—the first Australian cricket team to make an official tour to the country since Bill Lawry's team in 1970; South Africa were banned from international sport soon after because of their government's policy of apartheid, and were not readmitted until the 1990s. Under the captaincy of Adam Gilchrist, the Australians played four one-day and four three-day games, winning five
Ricky Ponting Waugh was a somewhat surprising omission, despite being unable to force his way back into the ODI team since being dropped after team disappointment in the 2001–02 VB Series. Ponting scored a slow 18 from 30 deliveries in Australia's victory in the opening match of the 2002–03 VB series against England in Sydney. He proceeded to score 119 from 123 balls (nine fours and three sixes) in Australia's second match of the series—again against England, this time at the MCG—sharing an all wicket record Australian ODI partnership of 225 with Adam Gilchrist in the process. Despite a comfortable Australian victory,