He's the No. 1 batsman in the world, he's won two Allan Border Medals, and now Ricky Ponting is a member of Australia's unofficial hall of fame . . . as a catcher.
Ponting's stunning one-handed catch to dismiss Sri Lankan dangerman Russell Arnold in the deciding third match of the VB Series finals at the Gabba yesterday revived memories of John Dyson's famous SCG outfield catch to snare West Indian Sylvester Clarke in 1982.
Dyson's goalkeeper-like effort was 24 years ago, when Ponting was only seven years old.
Ponting back-pedalled from mid-wicket and knew he had to do something special to catch it. He leapt off the ground and shot up his sticky right hand for a perfect mid-air pouch with his body angled backwards.
When he got to his feet, Ponting looked for a moment at spectators behind him in the grandstand with a deadpan, "like that?" expression.
Ponting's effort sparked debate about where it ranked among Australia's -- and cricket's -- finest catches.
But before it was placed in that company, it had a couple of hard ones to beat on the night with Andrew Symonds also snaring two gems -- another leaping right-hander early in the day before a diving catch racing in from deep cover.
Some judges didn't quite put in in the class of Glenn McGrath's horizontal interception on the Adelaide Oval boundary to dismiss England skipper Michael Vaughan in 2002.
There were supporters for Steve Waugh's behind the sight-screen catch of Roger Harper in 1989 because he had a distraction to deal with.
But Ponting, because of his perfectly timed leap and natural poise, made a desperately hard chance look easier than it was.
It might not have been the best of the best, but it was a special moment from a player whose hunger and sharpness were as evident on the last night of the Australian home summer as they were when it started more than three months ago.
Ponting's catch wasn't the only crowd-pleaser. Symonds produced a perfectly-timed leap for a one-handed take to dismiss Marvan Atapattu early and backed up for a diving outfield catch to end the stay of Chamara Kapugedera.
Ponting and Symonds' catches were in stark contrast to the efforts of Simon Katich and Sanath Jayasuriya, who were culpable for two red-faced spills on a day in which four catches went begging.
- ROBERT CRADDOCK