‘I hope you lose..': Ricky Ponting's cheeky message to Marco Jansen before PBKS pacer left IPL 2025 for WTC final preps
Marco Jansen has been at the heart of South Africa's rise to their first ICC World Test Championship final in the 2023-25 cycle. Despite featuring in only six Tests this edition, the towering Proteas pacer racked up 29 wickets, his 33.17 strike rate bettered only by India's Jasprit Bumrah among bowlers who have managed at least as many scalps as him.
With South Africa demanding the return of their WTC-final-bound players ahead of the IPL 2025 Playoffs late last month, Jansen had to leave an in-form Punjab Kings shortly before they made their bid for a maiden title. The left-arm seamer was integral to Punjab's middle and death-overs bowling plans, finishing as the second-highest wicket-taker with 16 scalps in 14 games.
Jansen recently opened up on the bond that he created with head coach Ricky Ponting at Punjab and the former Aussie captain's cheeky message for him as he prepared to leave India for Lord's to take on the defending Test champs, Australia, starting June 11.
'Before I left (India), he (Ponting) just said 'good luck, I hope you do well, but I hope you lose',' the 25-year-old Jansen told ICC Digital.
Jansen, however, thanked Ponting for firming him up with a wave of confidence ahead of a momentous summit clash as South Africa aim to end a long ICC title drought.
'I learnt a lot from him, especially from a mental point of view. He is always positive, and he always sees the good stuff instead of the bad stuff, if it makes sense,' he said.
'And I think that's why he's a legend of the game, because you always lean towards what could happen instead of what could go wrong. For me personally in the IPL, he's helped a lot in that regard, because he always reminds you what could be, what you can do and what could happen instead of what couldn't happen,' he added.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India Today
37 minutes ago
- India Today
WTC Final: Josh Hazlewood says he is bowling better than ever ahead of SA clash
Australian pacer Josh Hazlewood says he's bowling as well as he ever has, downplaying any doubts over his fitness ahead of the World Test Championship final against South Africa at Lord's starting experienced fast bowler is in a head-to-head contest with Scott Boland for the final pace spot in Australia's attack, alongside captain Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc. Hazlewood hasn't played a Test since the third match of last summer's Border-Gavaskar Trophy, when a calf injury forced him out mid-game at the Gabba. A side strain had already kept him out of the second Test in after a strong IPL campaign - where he claimed 22 wickets and helped Royal Challengers Bengaluru win their first title - Hazlewood says he's fully prepared for the return to red-ball cricket. "I was obviously quite close last time," Hazlewood said, referring to the 2023 WTC final, which he missed. "I just had a more interrupted IPL leading into that, and a few issues going on, so wasn't quite up to scratch. But I feel in a much better place this time around."Hazlewood has taken 57 wickets at 19.68 across 13 Tests since the start of the 2023 Ashes, and says he's confident in his form and execution."I still feel like I'm bowling probably the best of my career. It's just a matter of the body holding up - and it has been in the last few months," he WTC mace is one of the few major trophies missing from Hazlewood's collection. Last year's final saw Boland take his place, delivering a key performance in Australia's win over also impressed in the home series against India, taking 21 wickets at 13.19, including a ten-wicket haul at the SCG, further tightening the selection bowled five overs with the Dukes ball at moderate intensity during Australia's optional training session in Beckenham on Saturday. He's scheduled for a more intense, match-simulation session at Lord's on Sunday. In preparation, he had already started red-ball training while still in India."The intensity is probably the big one to tick off," Hazlewood said. "We've been adapting training to get in those back-to-back days, a big session followed by another the next day, just to get used to the demands again.""I ticked over some good overs just before the final in Ahmedabad - in different weather than this," he added with a selectors now have a tough decision to make: go with Hazlewood's experience and current form, or reward Boland's recent dominance. You May Also Like
Indian Express
38 minutes ago
- Indian Express
How a Pat Cummins picture with TV host Jeremy Clarkson got Aussie, English fans throwing sandpaper, Murray Mints online disses at each other
In a strange aligning, as per Twitrer handle Merovaeous all of these cricket teams – India, England, Australia, South Africa, Zimbabwe and West Indies are currently camped in UK. But in a prelude to the World Test Championship, Australia captain Pat Cummins was spotted on a Twitter post by famous TV host Jeremy Clarkson, saying, 'Hey Australia, look who I've stolen.' Clarkson, former host of Top Gear and The Grand Tour has a sleeper hit reality TV farm show Clarksons Farm on OTT, currently in its 4th season. It is extremely popular among Americans and takes place on a 1,000-acre Oxfordshire farm called Diddly Squat. The show rivalled BBC's 30-year-old farm show Countryfile (like Indian Aamchi Martínez, Aamchi mansa), and acquired a cult following since 2021. Pat Cummins, in UK for the World Test Championship, might have dropped in to feature in one of the episodes, went the speculation. The OxfordMail reported, 'Despite being regarded as one of the best fast bowlers of all time, having taken almost 300 Test wickets, people in the comments mistook him for Tom Cruise. Mr Clarkson is well known for disliking cricket, but the latest season of Clarkson's Farm showed him getting willow trees planted which will eventually be used to make cricket bats.' While Americans were befuddled and intrigued over who he was – Cummins, that is – and the usual 'introduction to cricket' jokes followed, the thread set off another predictable bantering exchange – between English and Aussie cricket fans. The handle, Jason Nevett took the first potshots: 'You can tell he is Ozzie cricketer by the sand paper they always carry.' A David Moore handle responded with, 'Just as the Poms carry Murray Mints.' That was a reference to jelly beans and Mints that the English bowlers get saddled with for using allegedly to work the ball for reverse swing. Sandpapergate is of course well accounted for the controversy it triggered. The Nevett handle kept darting at responses with various version of sandpaper ripostes. The handle Kaotic entered the chat and declared, 'Cheers mate, Don't forget to tune into us and South Africa playing for the world test championship in your backyard.' England's Bazballers never seem to qualify for WTC, though it always gets hosted in UK. Yet another 'will have sandpaper on standby for yas' from Nevett, had Kaotic quipping, '30 grit please…Although it will do you no good as you would be spectating the final as usual.' His slightly predictable comeback next time to being called 'cheaters' was 'No count back to this final' with a picture of Australia winning the last WTC mace. A few Twitter users also commented that the man with Clarkson was Tom Cruise, 'looking younger.' Sine not-so-bright Aussies asked Clarkson to keep Cummins on the farm, because he was 'woke'. English fans, dreading an Ashes peppering later in the year, requested Clarkson to push him into the bull ring and other assorted sabotage techniques, all in good humour though. Hopefully.
India Today
an hour ago
- India Today
Jasprit Bumrah's injuries are holding him back in past couple of years: Ricky Ponting
Legendary Australia cricketer Ricky Ponting feels it was the right decision by the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) to not make Jasprit Bumrah the captain of the Indian Test team due to his struggle with injuries. Bumrah has been suffering from injuries since 2022, as he was ruled out of action for 11 months and returned in August then, the speedster has been in remarkable form as he played crucial roles in India's T20 World Cup 2024 triumph and several Test victories. However, he was once again injured during the last Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 against Australia in Ponting shared his views on Bumrah's injuries and said that the board did the right thing by not appointing him the captain due to his injury issues. "I actually think it's the right move. I know there's a lot of other people out there, pundits out there saying they can't understand why it wasn't Bumrah and why they have gone to Shubman, but I think it's pretty simple," Ponting said on ICC Ponting mentioned how Bumrah's injuries would've affected his captaincy and said that the team must back Shubman Gill to remain as captain for a long injuries are holding him back a bit in the last couple of years and you don't want that with a captain. You can't have a captain coming in and missing games here and there. So I think it's the right decision. Now that they've made it, it's one they've got to stick with and give him a good crack at it for a long period of time,' he recently India head coach Gautam Gambhir revealed that they will be making Bumrah play just three Test matches in the upcoming England series to manage his workload. However, the management is undecided on which three matches the speedster will star fast bowler was adjudged ICC Test Cricketer and Cricketer of the year for his remarkable performances in 2024. He scalped 71 wickets from 13 matches at an average of 14.92 with five 5-wicket hauls to his name. Bumrah will be eager to continue his brilliant form in the upcoming Test series against England.
