Legendary batsman and skipper becomes 25th Australia into prestigious club, recognised with MCG lap of honour
Ponting inducted into ICC Hall of Fame
Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting has been recognised with a lap of honour at the MCG as part of his induction into the International Cricket Council's Hall of Fame.
Ponting was announced as the 25th Australian in the Hall of Fame earlier this year and was officially recognised on Wednesday in front of thousands of fans during the tea break of the third Domain Test between Australia and India.
Ponting joins India's Rahul Dravid and England's Claire Taylor as the 2018 inductees, bringing the total number of Hall of Fame members to 87.
Ponting is the 25th Australian to achieve the honour, entering the exclusive club behind former teammates Adam Gilchrist, Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Steve Waugh.
In February, he was also inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame.
The Tasmanian finished his career as Australia's greatest run-scorer in both Test and ODI cricket, won three World Cups as a player including two as captain, and was at the helm when Australia whitewashed England in the 2006-07 Ashes on home soil.
"I feel deeply honoured to be recognised by the ICC in this way," Ponting said.
"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."
Ponting was fittingly recognised at the MCG, where he scored four Test hundreds and averaged more than 58 from 15 Tests.
Three of those four centuries came against South Africa while the other was his career high of 257 against India 15 years ago, which steered Australia to a memorable victory.
Ponting also scored seven hundreds and averaged almost 57 in one-day internationals at the MCG, his 2,108 ODI runs the most by any player at the venue.