Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Former captains Rahul Dravid of India, Ricky Ponting of Australia and retired England woman wicketkeeper-batter Claire Taylor were inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame during a glittering ceremony in Dublin on Sunday evening. Dravid became only the fifth player from India to be named in the ICC Hall of Fame while Ponting is the 25th from Australia to do so. Taylor is the seventh woman overall and the third woman player from England to be named in the list. Former ICC Cricket Hall of Famers and members of the media selected the three.

ICC Chief Executive David Richardson said in a statement on Monday: “The ICC Cricket Hall of Fame is our way of honouring the greats of our game. Only the very best players in the world are recognised for their contribution to cricket in this way and I would like to congratulate Rahul, Ricky and Claire who are wonderful additions to the list of cricketing luminaries in the Hall of Fame.”

Rahul said: “It is a matter of great honour to be named by the ICC in the Cricket Hall of Fame. To find your name in a list of all-time greats across generations is something one only dreams of while setting out on a cricket career and the kind of recognition that would delight any player. I’m thankful to my near and dear ones as well as players I have played with and against, coaches and officials who have backed me over the years and helped me develop as a cricketer. I would also like to thank the KSCA and the BCCI for all the support over the years and the ICC for recognizing my achievements and picking me in this group of Hall of Fame inductees.”

Ponting: “I feel deeply honoured to be recognised by the ICC in this way. I loved every moment of my journey as a player and am so very proud of the team and personal achievements along the way. These would not have been possible without the help of so many people including my teammates, coaches and support staff that played such an integral part in my playing career. I would like to especially thank my family for their constant support and direction. Honours like this are just as much for them as it is for me.”

Dravid and Ponting have both scored more than 10,000 runs in Tests and ODIs. Dravid aggregated 13,288 runs in 164 Tests with 36 centuries and 10,889 runs in 344 ODIs with 12 centuries, and was in 2004 named as the ICC Cricketer of the Year as well as the ICC Test Player of the Year. Dravid, who played a solitary Twenty20 International, was also a brilliant slip fielder and finished his Test career in 2012 with 210 catches, which is a world record. Ponting too ended his career in 2012, amassing 13,378 runs in 168 Tests with 41 centuries and 13,704 runs in 325 ODIs with 30 centuries. Named as the ICC Cricketer of the Year in 2006 and 2007 and as the ICC Test Player of the Year in 2006, Ponting reached four ICC Cricket World Cup finals, winning in 1999, 2003 and 2007. He captained Australia in a record 26 successive unbeaten ICC Cricket World Cup matches from 2003 to 2011 and led the team to victory in the ICC Champions Trophy in 2006 and 2009. He also featured in 17 Twenty20 Internationals.

Taylor, who scored 103 runs in 15 Tests, 4,101 runs in 126 ODIs and 615 runs in 21 T20Is, was named the ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year in 2009. She was named the player of the tournament in the ICC Women’s World Cup 2009 and in the ICC Women’s World Twenty20 2009. She ended her career with an average of more than 40 in both Tests and ODIs. In Tests, she finished with 18 catches, In ODIs, she had 41 catches and five stumpings and in T20Is she had 12 catches and two stumpings.

Published in Daily Times, July 3^rd 2018.