Ricky Ponting pinned. Told to endure a 14-week lay-off, he never played competitive football again. During Tasmanian Sheffield Shield matches at the NTCA Ground (Northern Tasmanian Cricket Association Ground), Ponting helped out with the scoreboard, thereby surrounding himself with international cricketers. After leaving school at the end of year 10 in 1990, he began work as a groundsman at Scotch Oakburn College, a private school in Launceston. In 1991 the Northern Tasmanian Cricket Association sponsored Ponting to attend a fortnight's training at the Australian Cricket Academy in Adelaide. The two weeks turned into a full two-year sponsorship as he was said to
Ricky Ponting first class debut for the county. Ponting scored an unbeaten 169 against Nottinghamshire in his final first class innings, ensuring his team held on for a draw. During the Ashes 2013, Ponting wrote a regular column for the Daily Mail. At the formal opening of the Bellerive Oval redevelopment in January 2015, it was announced that the new Western Stand would be named the "Ricky Ponting Stand" in his honour. On December 9, 2015 Ponting also unveiled a bronze statue placed at the ground in his honour. Ponting was known as an aggressive competitor, as manifested in his on-field conduct.