Ricky Ponting Praises Andrew Symonds' Skill And Legacy

Aussie great Ricky Ponting has heaped rich praise on his former team-mate and close friend Andrew Symonds' skill and legacy, saying that the burly all-rounder was arguably the best white-ball cricketer in the world during a certain point in time and as a skipper he could pick him in every Australian playing XI irrespective of the format.

Reflecting on the recent loss of Symonds, who left the cricketing world in mourning after dying at the age of 46 in a car crash in Townsville on May 14, the former Australian skipper said that the Queenslander was so good in his prime.

"There was a four or five-year period there where he was arguably the best white-ball cricketer in the world and he was probably the best fielder the game has ever seen," Ponting told Isa Guha in the recent episode of The ICC Review.

"He could bowl medium pace and off-spin and batting in the middle-order, he was one of the most dangerous and best finishers the game has ever seen. Any team that I could pick for Australia if I was captain — whether it be a Test match, a One-Dayer, or a T20 — Andrew Symonds would be in my line-up every single time," he added.

Ponting said it was Symonds' fielding that really set him apart from other great players over the years.

"You could put him anywhere in the field and you would just know he would get the job done for you. His lateral movement, his speed across the ground, his stump hitting, all those things just came together as a very complete package as a fieldsman," he said.

"I don't think I played with a better athlete and it would have been a nightmare being an opposition batter trying to drop the ball in on the off-side somewhere with Symo patrolling the covers because there were never too many easy runs up for grabs," he added. IANS

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