Journalism of Courage
Former skipper Ricky Ponting has backed suspended Australia vice-captain Shane Watson,saying the all-rounder8217;s commitment for the team was beyond question.
Ponting,however,chose to steer clear of the ongoing crisis in the touring Australian team in the aftermath of the unprecedented dumping of four players in India.
8220;Shane worked as hard as anybody around his cricket,there8217;s no doubt about that. He8217;s obviously made a blue here 8211; I don8217;t like to refer to it as homework because it wasn8217;t homework 8211; not getting his tasks done that were given to him by the coach,8221; Ponting said.
8221; 8230; I8217;ve never known him to be anything other than a very good team player and a great bloke to have around your team,8221; he was quoted as saying by 8216;The Australian8217;.
8220;I loved every moment that I played with Watto. To tell the truth I think I understood him and his personality as well as anyone that I ever played with. I tried to get as close to him as I could,8221; said Ponting,who had brought in Watson into the Australian team.
Ponting did not agree with Cricket Australia8217;s high performance manager Pat Howard,who described Watson as 8220;sometimes8221; a team player.
8220;Pat8217;s known Shane for 12 months and Australian captain Michael Clarke and Shane have known each other for the best part of 20 years,8221; he said.
Ponting backed Watson8217;s decision to be with his wife during the birth of their first child in Sydney.
8220;It8217;s obviously a personal decision and he probably doesn8217;t care how it looks,8221; he said.
8220;What the girls go through when we8217;re away is hard enough as it is but there8217;s certain things in your personal life you don8217;t want to miss.
