Questions were being asked of the Australia captain, Ricky Ponting, as he led his team into the series with India. His brilliant century in the first Test suggests he remains one of the great batsmen of this, or any other, era, writes Stephen Brenkley in the Independent.
At the age of 33 (34 in December) Ponting is 20 months younger than Tendulkar and so far his body, unlike that of the "Master Blaster from Mumbai", has shown few signs of rebelling against the constant demands put on it. Nobody ever can become the new Don Bradman – the man scored a century on every 2.75 visits to the Test crease, for goodness sake – but another Australian is building a sound case for being the Best Since Bradman. And as a captain Ponting is creating a record of similar magnitude. Under him, Australia have won 73.3 per cent of their matches, greater than anybody who has led in more than 10 matches: better than Bradman, and better than Ponting's immediate predecessor, Steve Waugh.
It is the ultimate stamp of a great batsman that he makes big runs on big occasions. Since Tendulkar is one of only five players to have made nine Test hundreds against Australia – one more would make him second behind the 12 scored by England's Jack Hobbs – it would be a stretch to accuse him of failing to make the most of himself. But there is a quality in Ponting, a mixture of talent, desire, will and doggedness, that sets him apart.
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