AGENCY
new delhi, june 12
Australia legend Ricky Ponting has drawn a striking parallel between South Africa’s pace spearhead Kagiso Rabada and his former Australia teammate Glenn McGrath, after Rabada’s fiery spell on the opening day of the ICC World Test Championship Final at Lord’s saw him etch his name onto the Honours Board once again.
Rabada’s five-wicket haul, his 17th in Test cricket, was the cornerstone of South Africa’s bowling dominance against Australia on Wednesday, with fellow quick Marco Jansen also contributing significantly as the duo shared eight wickets. It marked Rabada’s second successive five-wicket haul in a Test innings at Lord’s, replicating his 2022 performance against England. Speaking to ICC Digital, Ponting was full of praise for the South African duo and made a telling comparison between Rabada’s mastery of Lord’s conditions and McGrath’s famed success at the historic venue. “Glenn McGrath was also exactly the same at Lord’s. McGrath loved bowling at Lord’s and loved being able to use the slope both ways from either end of the ground, which is something that is probably not talked about as much as it should be,” Ponting said, highlighting Rabada’s intelligent use of the unique conditions.
Impressed with Rabada and Jansen’s efforts, Ponting believes the pair is right up there in terms of opening bowling combinations in world cricket.
“I don’t think there’s any doubt about that. I think that’s sort of been building up over the last couple of years. They contrast each other really well with the left-arm and right-arm,” Ponting said.
“Marco is obviously getting a bit steeper bounce than what Rabada gets. When you’re talking about bowling partnerships or bowling combinations, you need guys that complement each other well. “It’s no good having two guys that are exactly the same because then it feels like you’ve got the same stuff coming at you from both ends…those two have worked really well together now for a few years,” the former Australia skipper quipped.
Acknowledging the significance of senior players stepping up in big moments, Ponting commended Rabada for leading from the front despite a challenging few months off the field. “These big games are all about your big name players. Your star players have to stand up in these games. Having been through a bit of off-field stuff in the last few months as well, I’m sure that now that he’s back out on the international stage, would have wanted to stand up and be the man for his team and lead from the front. And that’s what quality leaders do,” he said.
Looking ahead, Ponting offered a bit of tactical insight for Australia’s batters, who were dismissed cheaply in the first innings. “The important thing for the Aussie batters is that they now know that they’re probably going to get the best of the batting conditions in their second innings, so they have to make the most of those,” Ponting said.
Webster looked completely ready
Ponting also heaped praises on fellow Tasmanian Beau Webster, who top-scored for Australia in their first innings in the face of a hostile spell from Rabada and Jansen. The towering all-rounder, who made his Test debut in a pressure cooker series-deciding Test in Sydney against India at the start of this year, negotiated a tough early period at Lord’s, and compiled a gutsy 72 off 92 balls, ensuring his side posted a competitive total of 212 runs on a tricky deck against world-class bowling.
“You take those 70 odd runs out, that scorecard looks a whole lot different. I think that says a lot about how comfortable he is in his own game right now and even the comfort he has of being in the Australian middle order,” Ponting said.
“The thing I liked about that today was, although Australia were in a little bit of trouble, wickets were falling… (Webster) was able to go out there and maintain his own natural style of play and play the way that he wanted to play and try and be aggressive and try and put some pressure back on the South African bowlers,” he added.
The 31-year-old Webster’s 72 led the way for Australia, with Steve Smith also contributing with a hard-fought 66 in just under three hours at the crease.
