Ricky Ponting announces retirement from Test cricket Ricky Ponting, one of the finest batsmen in contemporary cricket and Australia's middle order bulwark for years, on Thursday announced his retirement from international cricket, bringing down the curtains on an illustrious career spanning 17 years. Ponting, who will retire after the third Test against South Africa beginning in Perth on Friday, told a hastily-called press conference that he was calling it quits as he has not being performing for some time to the level he had desired. The former Australian captain, who will turn 38 next month, has scored 13,336 Test runs from 158 matches at an average of 52.21, second only to India's Sachin Tendulkar (15562 from 192 matc...