Ricky Ponting Quotations

I want to be a dad, first and foremost. I want to be a good father. I've spent so much of my life on the move and travelling around the world that just to set up a home for my family and be a good dad is something that motivates me.

I think any time you lose an Ashes series, especially with the hype and build-up surrounding it and the pride we have as Australians playing against England, that's always hard to take.

It was a long, hard, tough day. We managed to just sneak through, it was an unbelievable Test match.

We have played so well that the guys have really made my job fairly easy.

I had big shoes to fill, but the way we have been playing has made the transition easy.

It's nice to put your hand up and do the big things the team requires of you.

I was always fiercely determined and driven to succeed.

Every decision you make in life, not just on the sporting field - a lot of time and energy goes into it. You think things through before you make decisions and you always think the decision you make at the time is going to be the right one.

It's a song that we sing after we win a Test match. We sing it after every one-day series win. It's been passed down through the generations. It's the culture of the Australian team.

We knew that if we had to win the World Cup, the defensive side of the game had to be better, which means bowlers will have to bowl tight and we will have to field better.

How much golf I actually play depends on whom you ask. My wife says I'm out there every day. If you ask me, the cricket is getting in the way of the golf.

I know when I've been playing a lot of golf it takes me a while to get back into cricket again. It's not so much the different shape of the swings, more the fact that you are stationary when you hit a golf ball. In cricket you have to move forward or back, which is an instinctive timing thing.

It's always good to win a Test match and if you win it comfortably, it can leave a few psychological marks on opposition sides.

I've told the guys to keep their heads up. I really believe we played a great game here.

We're going to need some experienced guys back in the Test side if Glenn doesn't come back, so I'm sure their names will be at the top of the list.

We've been in this sort of situation before in series. We lost the first final of the VB Series a few weeks ago (against Sri Lanka in Australia) and won the next two.

We have relied heavily on Warne and McGrath and, as a captain, I will always go to those two guys because I know they will give me pretty much what I ask for every time,

We were confident of going close -- maybe not as close as it was in the end.

If we can squeeze a few more runs out of the tail and then bowl well first thing in their innings it could be very interesting. That's not a bad total and it could be an even better one if we bowl well tomorrow - it's certainly not the end of the world as far as we're concerned.

I have got no idea and it's not important if he does.

I couldn't help thinking during the past two Tests that it's been very rare that we've been well and truly outplayed for the majority of two matches in a row and found ourselves under pressure for long periods, basically suffering what other teams normally suffer against us. It's almost as if we've become those opposition teams, and England has suddenly become Australia.

I am the captain, but I am not batting for everyone in the side and I am not bowling for everyone,

I felt like I started pretty well and probably got worse as the innings went on,

He had his chest guard on, he had his forearm guard on, he had his helmet on, and he was pretty keen to get out there.

We're nowhere near our best yet but we still came away with a good win.

He's a vital bowler, someone who's done exceptionally well for us and in big games, and that's what this is building up to be.

It is hypothetical to think about what could have happened because we didn't lose the game.

I think they've just slightly had the edge over Sri Lanka and I think Sri Lanka probably rely on too few players and I think South Africa have got more depth.

We'll be able to put a stronger team on the ground and we can hopefully get back to playing the way we have been over the past few weeks. If we do, we'll be very hard to beat.

That was probably what got my back up more than anything, was to have their coach standing on the balcony smiling at me once I was dismissed.

We have to see where Glenn is at, hopefully he is going to be available for the Ashes, which would be good for us if he is because over the past 12-18 months he has been really good for us.

We came up a little bit short with our batting but our new ball bowling was outstanding,

We are looking a lot more confident than we were a couple of days ago,

We have been resting so that we are fresh for tomorrow.

We just tried to pick the best team we can for this game,

We just gave away too big a start,

Brett is like he is because of his pace. If he drops back he becomes easier to hit so we addressed that last night. It's a confidence thing and about understanding the way he has to bowl. We've addressed these issues quite a few times with Brett, we did it with his one-day bowling a few years ago, and hopefully today is a step in right direction.

Every individual has got to put their hand up and stand up in a game that counts... There's no other option now, if guys can't get up for a game like the one we've got coming up, then they shouldn't be playing. I wouldn't think a batting change would come from outside the squad, and to tell the truth I don't think a bowling change would either.

As I have seen over the last two days of this game, a lot of that fight is there but just not for long enough. If we want to win Test matches, it has to be over the four days, we have to be at our best for four days.

There's more happening in the 'papers than out on the field although there was a little bit of needle in Perth and there probably will be at different times her and in Sydney. But I think it's been done in a friendly way, at least that I know of, unless something happened out there today. But whatever happens on the field, you leave it there and get on with it.

It would be nice if we could have that showdown that everyone is looking at: the Pakistani fast bowlers against all our fast bowlers. Brett certainly hasn't been ruled out yet.

The team the West Indies picked was fairly light on with their batting and we knew that if we made some early in-roads that we might be able to go through them reasonably quickly.

The thing about our batsmen right now is it's not as if anyone is going through a lean trot. Guys are getting 20 and 30 and 40 and getting out, which is fairly unusual for our players, ... To win Test matches you have to have those big scores made. You have to make hundreds in Test cricket, that's what it's all about. They're just not doing that right now. There's no doubt we'll sit down and talk about some of the individuals, but I must admit I'd be surprised if any changes were made.

A few of our guys in the side knew him a lot better than I did, Shane Warne being one of those. Shane was a pretty close friend of Kerry's, so it's an extremely sad day and it's a huge loss for the cricket community.

The older guys have been the ones who have performed the best, so how do you move them on?

As an individual, if you are not playing as well as you like, you are always putting a bit more pressure on yourself,

A lot of our guys are in good form, there's a good feeling around the team and if we get out there and start the test match well I'm sure South Africa will find it hard to beat us.

They know how important this game is and how important it is that everyone is 100 per cent fit going in, so they'll make the right call.

This loss will definitely hang around for a long time on the one-day scene and in our minds as well.

They're also checking his teeth but he'll be okay to bat tomorrow.

It was a game dominated by the ball and mostly by our bowlers.

I'm not concerned about those things, I know I'm not going to keep everybody happy along the way,

I guess at different times if they can't (execute plans) well then it might look like I have done something wrong or I am doing something wrong,

If you look at the first morning in Brisbane when we were 4-111, I think their intensity was up pretty high then,

I know I am not going to keep everybody happy along the way, but as long as I look after the guys in my dressing-room I'm okay.

If you saw my face, I looked at the fielder and then turned straight to the bowler and said 'I'm 100% sure that didn't carry'. Otherwise I would have been off straight away.

He's another one who's game has developed a lot over the last couple of years,

All I can say is that we handled conditions a lot better than they did.

Although we lost it has been a great Test and one of the best I have ever played in. Hopefully the next one will be exactly the same.

If I had to last 20 years, I would probably be batting in a wheelchair.

To have a week off in the middle of the season feels like a lot longer I think, so I feel really good. Hopefully I can go out there and get some runs.

I think we've been a lot more disciplined with our bowling. Our batting at times has been more disciplined as well.

Not scoring one for the whole calendar year last year was a bit disappointing but I didn't really feel any pressure to get my first one as skipper,.

Ganguly is a very good leader. His return to the field brings a spring in the steps of the Indians. He is a great player.

I have made my thoughts on it (sledging) well known over the last couple of years. We are more than happy to be talking to opposition players in the field so long as it is not personal or abusive.

I was disappointed over my dismissal, given that it was at a crucial stage of the game and I had worked very hard to get to that point,.

I guess we speak pretty loosely, don't we, about looking forward to the Ashes and all that-and we are, but it's not with both eyes. We've got one eye on that and one eye on what we need to get in place to make sure we're the best team we can be for November.

A great competitor, and someone who I think Indian cricket owes a lot to,