IT'S not quite a royal seal of approval, but former prime minister John Howard has given Test skipper Ricky Ponting the nod as Australia's best batsman since Donald Bradman.
Howard, who was controversially overlooked to head the International Cricket Council when India and Zimbabwe opposed his proposed appointment earlier this year, spoke of his admiration for Bradman, Ponting and West Indian superstar Garfield Sobers at a literary lunch in Sydney on Friday.
''I have to say that the most exciting batsman I have ever watched in an innings over a period of time - as distinct from watching on film - is Garfield Sobers, the great West Indian player.''
''It's very, very hard to say any Australian batsman since Bradman has been better than Ricky Ponting,'' he said. ''I think Ponting is a great batsman.
''I think there is a problem with the administration of cricket in some parts of the cricketing world,'' Howard said.
''I hasten to say not Australia - I think the cricket administration in Australia is very good.
''This was because he took it for granted, owing to his seniority, that he would be elected,'' Howard wrote. ''He had not bothered to organise his numbers.
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