Ricky Ponting picks his top five greatest Test batters of all time

Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting on Saturday revealed his all-time top five Test batsmen, including two legends from India and one each from the West Indies, New Zealand and England.

According to reports, the Indian duo in Ponting’s list are Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, both widely regarded as among the greatest batsmen in cricket history. 

The list also featured West Indies’ former captain Brian Lara, renowned for his skill and impact, as well as England’s Joe Root, considered one of the finest modern-day Test batter.

New Zealand’s Kane Williamson rounds out the list, praised for his technique and consistency.

Ponting shared his thoughts in an interview with The Times:

"Brian Lara was the most skillful batter I played against and when I was captain, he gave me more sleepless nights than anybody. 

"Sachin was technically as good as anyone I’ve seen, along with Rahul Dravid; I’d put Joe in there now as well, and Kane Williamson."

The former Australian skipper also explained his inclusion of English all-rounder Ben Stokes, despite Stokes’ relatively modest statistics.

"Stokes is a hard one. Numbers don’t define him. It’s been about moments with him, he’s a situation player. When things get the toughest, he’s been at his best. 

"When you’re talking about the greats, you’ve got to talk about impact on games," he said.

Ponting further praised Joe Root’s growth and consistency:

“What he’s done the past five years is extraordinary. Look at the numbers: he’s got 13,500 runs. I rank players on how long they can stay at the top of their powers. 

"You can be a great player for 30 to 40 games but can you do it for 150 games? Joe probably wasn’t a great player for his first 100 games, he had 17 hundreds in 97 Tests, but he’s turned into a great player. 

"He has got 21 hundreds in his past 60 games (before the Oval Test)," he concluded.