Ricky Ponting

As a raw teenager from Tasmania, Ricky Ponting arrived in international cricket with a whippy bat swing and a reputation for belligerence that occasionally tipped into arrogance. By his peak, he had hardened into the most complete Australian batter of the modern age, a supreme driver and puller of the ball who dismantled attacks on the biggest stages while carrying the weight of captaincy.

Ponting's early years mixed devastating flashes of genius with off-field scrapes and patchy form. The turning point came in the late 1990s, when he tightened his game and trusted his hands. The result was a decade of relentless consistency, including a monumental unbeaten 140 in the 2003 World Cup final and a defiant 156 at Old Trafford in the 2005 Ashes that saved the Test.

As captain, Ponting led Australia to a record 48 Test victories and back-to-back World Cup triumphs in 2003 and 2007, part of a run of three straight titles as a player, along with a 16-Test winning streak. He was among the finest fielders of his time in the covers, with a startlingly quick pickup and throw. His 41 Test centuries and 13,378 Test runs are both Australian records, the latter second only to Sachin Tendulkar worldwide.

After retirement, Ponting became a successful IPL coach with Delhi Capitals and later Punjab Kings, and a respected commentator. Few players have combined technical mastery with such fierce intensity, and his standing rests on an insatiable hunger for victory and shot-making that changed the tempo of the game.