Cricket: Why Ponting should 'retire'

Ricky Ponting can play some magnificent cricket when he is on song but his recent form has him under pressure to retire (or should I say: 'be sacked'). Ponting has played 150 tests for Australia and has captained the Australian cricket team since 2004. 


As a professional you are expected to play and represent your country well. In my opinion the 36 year old has outstayed his visit, a bit like Alan Harper in the TV show  Two and a Half Men. His playing ability and decision making has deteriorated over the years and is now at an all time low. So far in this Ashes series Ponting has played poorly and as a result has allowed England to take a 1-0 lead in the series. 


His consistently low scores have caused other players to do all the work and make up for his lackluster cricket. I'm afraid that his 'solid' scores have rubbed off onto other players. I think that players such as Michael Clarke watch there captain fail and as a result think that it is alright to do the same.


I think that Australian cricket has endured a downward spiral since players such as Shane Warne, Justin Langer, Adam Gilchrist and Mathew Hayden retired. The Australian selectors just can't find the right players for the job. There are lots of domestic players in Australia who play well against other teams but when it comes to playing for their nation they can't perform. 


Australian cricket needs to slowly rebuild and hope that one day the Australian cricket team can return to being a powerhouse of international cricket.        

NBA game of the week: Boston Celtics @ Philadelphia 76ers

The in-form Boston Celtics took on the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday night at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. Philadelphia looked like they were going to stage an upset win against the Celtics when they led by 1 point with 6.6 seconds remaining in the game. However Boston point guard Rajon Rondo threw an amazing alley oop pass to Kevin Garnett who grabbed it in mid air and shot it in. Boston won 102 - 101. 


The Celtics lead by 1 point with 1.4 seconds remaining in the game and Philadelphia turned the ball over and lost all hope of winning the game, Kevin Garnett held on to the ball until the final buzzer sounded. 


Boston has now moved to 18 wins, 4 losses and sit at the top of the eastern conference. Philadelphia has now slumped to 7 wins, 15 losses for the season.



Having watched this game I think that the 76ers should be very disappointed with themselves. At times Philadelphia looked like they were going to romp home and win but Boston stayed with them and hit some clutch shots including a Ray Allen three pointer late in the game to give the Celtics a one point lead. This game was very entertaining because the lead changed so many times. I honestly thought Philadelphia were going to win but you can't afford slip ups against Boston because they will make you pay and tonight they did just that.