'Ponting best Oz batsman since Bradman'

Oct 31, 2010 |

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Sydney: Former prime minister John Howard has said Test skipper Ricky Ponting has been Australia's best batsman since Donald Bradman.

"It's very, very hard to say any Australian batsman since Bradman has been better than Ricky Ponting. I think Ponting is a great batsman. I think he plays the hook shot brilliantly and I wish him luck against the old enemy (England),' the Sydney Morning Herald quoted Howard, as saying.

He recalled that his father took him to see Bradman’s last match – a testimonial in Sydney for ex-Australian stars Alan Kippax and Bert Oldfield in 1949.

"My father took me to see him - it was his last appearance. The record books say he got 53 or 54, I forget which. I reckoned it was a huge thrill. Of course, he'd really finished by the time I started watching cricket,” Howard said.

"I have to say that the most exciting batsman I have ever watched in an innings over a period of time - as distinct from watching on film - is Garfield Sobers, the great West Indian player," he added.

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