Australia captain Ricky Ponting will play English county cricket for Somerset later this year, the club said in a statement. Dashing batsman Ponting, currently leading Australia in Sri Lanka, will be available for the final stages of the Twenty20 competition and the semi-final of the C and G Trophy, English cricket’s domestic one-day knockout competition in July. Ponting, recently named Australia’s cricketer of the year, said in the statement: “I am really looking forward to my stint with Somerset and hope my new teammates will play well to qualify for the later stages of both Cup competitions. “If they have played that well, I might not get in the team!” Somerset also said they hoped to have Ponting available for four national cricket (one-day) league games against Worcestershire, Sussex, Yorkshire and Durham. The West Country Club’s statement added: “He will also play in four championship (England’s first-class equivalent to Australia’s Sheffield Shield) matches against Glamorgan and Hampshire at the county ground and in the away matches against Durham and Yorkshire.” The last of these takes place in August. Somserset captain Mike Burns said of Ponting’s impending arrival: “It will be terrific thrill to have him in the side and the rest of us have a big job to do ahead of his arrival. “It is a big incentive for everyone and I don’t think that I will be hesitating over his selection!” Ponting is not the first Australia captain to play for Somerset. Both Greg Chappell and Steve Waugh had spells at the Taunton-based county.
