Ricky Ponting appointed Australia’s assistant coach for World Cup

SYDNEY (92 News) – Cricket Australia announced to appoint three-time World Cup winning former captain Ricky Ponting as assistant coach to Justin Langer for the 2019 tournament. Ricky Ponting has been assistant in Australia’s T20 squad in 2017 and 2018. Three-time World Cup-winning former Australian captain Ricky Ponting will be part of Australia’s coaching staff for the 2019 ICC World Cup. 44-year-old Ponting, who has earlier worked as assistant for Australia’s t20 side in 2017 and 2018, was confirmed by Cricket Australian as assistant coach to Justin Langer for the tournament. Australia are set to hold a pre-tournament camp in Brisbane in early May before their first World Cup game against Afghanistan in Bristol on June 1. Ponting, who's also the coach of Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League, will be joining the squad at the camp. “I'm really excited to be joining the coaching group for this year's World Cup,” Ponting said after his appointment on Friday (February 8). “I've enjoyed my previous short-term roles with the ODI and T20 teams but World Cups take on a whole different meaning for me. “I have enormous confidence in the players available to the selectors and know we will be as tough to beat as any team, in this year's World Cup,” Ponting added. Belinda Clark, the interim EGM High Performance, underlined the importance of Ponting's appointment for what's set to be a crammed season, when a draining World Cup will be tailgated by an Ashes series away from home, again in England. “Ricky will assist Justin across a number of key areas including strategy and game-plan, but he will also work closely with and mentor the batting group as they prepare for the English conditions,” Clarke said. “This appointment also provides an opportunity for Graeme Hick to focus on preparation for the Ashes. With two major events back to back we believe it is important to focus a number of staff specifically on one event. The appointment of Ricky is a part of this overall strategy,” he said. Ponting comes with the experience of 375 ODIs as a player, and has featured in five World Cups, three of them as a captain. Langer was delighted to have Ponting's experience in the Australian dressing room, especially at a rough time for the rebuilding side.