Ponting warns England that there is more to come from his blade

NOTTINGHAM - Having retired from Twenty20 cricket and opting to concentrate his energy and skills on the longer versions of the game, Australian skipper Ricky Ponting has warned England and other international sides that he can expect telling scores from his long blade.

Speaking on the eve of the sixth one-day international against England to be played here, Ponting said: “My decision to retire from international Twenty20 was to give me the best chance of playing both 50-over cricket and Test match cricket a little bit better, just to free up a couple of extra weeks in the calendar, to get that break, to come back and feel fresh and play better.”

“So I guess looking back at it it’s worked quite well so far, although the proof will be in the pudding in the next couple of years. Looking at the next 12 months there’s a chance that when I don’t play Twenty20 internationals that I’ll probably get another four weeks off. Some of the guys in our change room right now would like to have four weeks off in the calendar, trust me,” the Sydney Morning Herald quoted him, as saying. (ANI)