Shane Warne
Spin legend Shane Warne finds it “staggering” that an observation by him was portrayed as an attack on Ricky Ponting whom he still considers the best player to lead the Australian cricket team as of now.
“I find it staggering, and not at all surprising, how much factually incorrect rubbish I have read since I was quietly sitting on my couch last week talking out loud to the television and answering my fans on Twitter. I don’t know why so many people even feel the need to exaggerate and sensationalize one sentence. Please, just report the facts,” Warne tweeted on his page.
Warne had commented on Ponting’s fielding setting during the Bengaluru Test loss to India, inviting a sharp reply from the Aussie skipper, which led to speculations that the two had fallen out.
For Warne though, there was no such thing as a slanging match as reported by the media. “My tweet about Ricky’s fields for Nathan Hauritz for a couple of overs has been portrayed as a rift between myself and the Australian skipper and the media has tried to start a slanging match between us; what rubbish,” he said.
“Commentators on the match, cricket journalists and even the Indian captain, MS Dhoni, have agreed with my tweet. It was an ‘observation’, not an attack. Never at any stage did I say or imply that Ricky’s time as captain is up,” he added.
Warne stated that he still considers Ponting to be the best man for Australian captaincy. “Every captain and spinner has struggled at times to set fields against the Indian batsmen in India. We’ve all been smashed for fours and sixes and struggled with getting the right fields. “Sometimes as a player, when things are going bad, we can all be a little extra sensitive to comments that ex-players or commentators make, I know I have been through this over the years as well.
Yes, Ricky was disappointed with my tweet and expressed his disappointment via an SMS to which I replied “should I take you off the Christmas card list?” My philosophy is never to lose your sense of humour in whatever you do,” he revealed.
“Ricky, to me is the most appropriate man to lead Australia for the upcoming Ashes. it’s a great opportunity for him to show his leadership and captaincy skills. He also looks in great touch with the bat; I am sure he’s going to fill his boots this summer.”
Shane Warne suspects that Ponting’s critics are using his comments to have a go at the embattled captain. “I get a sense that others are after Ponting, they are trying to use my tweet as a camouflage to their own words and hang him, that’s not on,” he concluded.
Tags: Australia, Bengaluru Test, Cricket, India, Ricky Ponting, Shane Warne, Spin Legend, Test Cricket
