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
Early life of Ricky Ponting being himself I'm sure he'll cope well with all the success that I imagine he will achieve." The selectors eventually chose Western Australian batsman Damien Martyn for the tour, with Ponting selected in the Academy squad captained by Justin Langer, which toured India and Sri Lanka for seven games in August and September in 1993. Australian success was limited, with only a few wins. No batsman scored a century, but Ponting reached 99 not out in a one-day game in Colombo. He finished the tour second highest in the run-scorers behind Langer. Before the start of the 1993–94 Sheffield Shield