“Kane Williamson will be New Zealand’s greatest cricketer” Ricky Ponting | No Boundaries 🏏

Join Jeff Wilson, Ricky Ponting and Stephen Fleming from the 18th green at the NZ Golf Open as they discuss whats happening in the cricketing world

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Welcome to the 103rd New Zealand golf openen we are back in Queenstown we’re back at milbrook this is going to be one hell of a contest can’t wait for it all to get started and two of the very best are back with us our captain our leader Steven sling and our beloved Australian

Ricky ponton I say that right now but we’ll see later in the week once the competitive juices start to flow fim for you I know you work hard every year to get yourself back to Queenstown between the massive schedule you have as a coach in T20 cricket around the world but why

Is it important for you to be here well I just love it it’s just a great week it’s a chance to mix with athletes that do something special and to get inside the ring and and experience the the pressure um the accuracy the brilliance of some of these players and enjoy

Magnificent surrounds but spend time with guys like you um and just just relax I think it’s it’s wonderful week I find that hard to believe when you said that to be fair Ricky but for you it’s been a couple of years though right do

You look at me or do you look at you I don’t know there’s a bit of both of us to be fair but it’s been a couple of years for you co hit and all of a sudden it hasn’t quite worked in terms of schedules but how excited are you to be

Back uh we’ve had a bit of a practice round today if are you feeling good are you feeling confident and to be back here at the open yeah I think I played four or five in a row I think right at the start and feel with fem and then

Missed a couple with Co and last year didn’t quite work but um you just feel really lucky to be involved in the event I mean we get looked after really well and even talking to the not just the am players you talk to the professionals as

Well and they rate this as their best week of the year so when that’s coming from the pros that play a lot of great tournaments around the world it makes you realize how special this week is so yeah I’m thankful to be here again um

We’ll do whatever we can to help um keep promoting the event and doing what we can that way but um yeah once Thursday morning starts and you you put the tea in the ground and it’s on it’s on it’s right because Flyn we do it all the time

Don’t we we played rounds of golf but it’s nothing like this all of a sudden when you’re playing with pros and they’re playing the game properly P’s on a scratch so he plays it magnificently we battle our way around let be fair but ultimately though the that’s a different

Feeling right there’s a different pressure and seeing these athletes in that circumstance is something to admire and behold well it is especially when you’re getting jibed by the crowd so you should have the tools I ain’t got any and that’s the problem is that when you train in your own profession and you

Learn to cope and and and get the skills you need to get through precious situations it’s a bit different so admiring these players and the the tunnel vision in a way to get the job done the ball doesn’t move but it’s incredibly complex sport to play and get

A get a grasp on and play it consistently well one thing i’ would love actually is to to to get a heart rate monitor on us on the golf course on the first two just have a stra up with a heart rate monitor just have a check at

What it is and then we’ll get Mike Hendry and the boys in the Nets against against um that would be good Mitchell Stark and coms and just see what their heart rate gets up to you realize that could be arranged very easily for you on the first te here on

Thursday I’ll tell you what the the difference between you and I will be significant there be no there be no doubt about it look in terms of the ambassador program and look as I’ve been a privileged to be a part of it for so long now Flyn but it’s something that’s

Grown and changed over time and you know there’s some players as Ro dags come into the fold Young Buck uh big responsibilities for him and both of them just seran just comes and goes he’s here every year he he has a red he goes fishing does he leave we’re not sure

Actually that’s a good point I don’t know I’ve never seen him at the airport um oh he does Because he pops up in Australia for the couple of months yeah toay for exactly that’s all he does he gets to Australia fills his pockets up then comes over to Queenstown for a

Couple of months but it’s one of those events right where all of a sudden you are seeing other athletes from other sport who take up golf where it’s a privilege to to be a part of it but also there’s a bit of a comaraderie between us right because we know the

Responsibility we have yeah is it’s important and it’s taken seriously some good events throughout the the tournament and and and pre as well just creating a little bit of uh a bit of notice a bit of awareness what’s going on but Tom W is a good example Tom wsh

Is a golfer when Tom turned up it’s like well what what to expect but Tom loved to be here he swings the golf club nicely he’s a hell of a nice guy so the chance not just to meet golfers but to meet people who have done well in in New

Zealand sport an international sport or a claim for for other skills is um is a great opportunity Hayden Pon rally driver you never sure yeah he’s he’s he sent a message he can’t be here he’s doing is quiff I don’t know if you’ve seen his new ad but he’s got the most

Magnificent new hereo he just quiff across yeah joined a family yeah he beautiful very proud of is there hope for me B all right so out of their best of Team we’ve certainly we’ve certainly got a superar has arrived rooky and to have ashb at this tournament in fact she won

Three grand slam titles as a tennis player to have her here and playing in this tournament I mean um special to have someone like that who’s probably I’m interested to see and how she deals with this pressure because as an individual athlete we’re in team sports given you’re a batsman and it’s an

Individual game in the game of cricket but for her dealing with this pressure how do you think she might go no she’ll be fine I I I played an event with her in the states last year the icons cup thing that we we played together and she

Went against a 7’2 linebacker from the NFL and in the singles and cleaned him up she’ll be fine um like she’s a she’s a good player actually and I think the fact it’s it probably is different you know she’s been as say an individual on the biggest stage you know winning major

Championships I think that pressure is you know you can sort of bring that across to the golf course as well the individual pressure more so than sort of being in a team sport and if you if you happen to fail have someone that can pick up the pieces behind you so look

She’s she’s a great person um and a and a good player and I’m I wouldn’t be surprised if her and a partner make the cut this week well you guys are clearly still active in cricket you know both coaching around the world uh both off to

The IPL right uh there’ll be a bit of competitive juices around that I don’t know how much you’ll give away on this trip but the game certainly changed but F I want to ask you about my um figging Cricket career when I I played for you

Was there quite a well well was there quite a bit of Doubt when you gave the ball to me when I was bowling I got the sense every time you Tred to set a field what was difficult about it when when you were sitting a field when I was

Bowling he just weren’t able to put fielders 10 rows back and there was a challenge did that have anything to do with the size of Eden par might it was never the it was never the case sh but we did have one occasion didn’t we when the first ever T20 International came up

And you’d just come back uh from doing your bit of rugby stuff as well and we had to Bower this guy no we didn’t have to no no we didn’t you feel a part of part of it but would you have even believed with the game of T20 has got to

Right now well no that day was a bit of fun we we we little bit fancy dress and had the old um facial hair you guys didn’t get the invite I don’t think we had the retro kit that was about enough but the fers couldn’t do much with our

Hair leaning into that MCG mcgr tried the Lloyd Christmas Dum and dummer sort of look but that was about as good as it got from the Aussies well had H Marshall didn’t we who trumped it and just throwed it up but we at that stage it

Was it was a great game um there had been some games in England sort of a little bit of of County stuff and I had experien that but in terms of international it was a great experience it was a a great occasion but no can you

Go forward what 15 16 17 years and say well look at the game now it really is probably one of the heartbeats of the game if not the heartbeat to the game for for money and for what players want yeah well that was the first International play between us that day

And I I did the press conference before the game and said that I thought that this format was going to be a great marketing tool for the 50 over game you know just to get a newer younger crowd in into the game of cricket Shawn wat 20 Cricket is and then hopefully they’ll

Stick on and like the 50 over game more because the 50 over game at that stage was probably starting to drop off a little bit but it’s gone the other way it’s left left the 50 over game behind and a lot of the players have left the

50 over game behind as well so there are a lot of um a lot of fears I think around the world about probably 50 over cricket and test Cricket on the back of how successful the T20 game has become um especially I think you know Australia England India

Will probably keep promoting the Test match game as much as they can but you can understand some of the other countries not pushing it so much you know Sri Lanka Bangladesh the West Indies even keyways to a certain point it’s expensive it’s expensive to run it’s expensive to play and TimeWise and

It it’s difficult the the game has never had more money in it but international cricket has never been poorer yeah has it changed the game though it appears as though that all of a sudden all forms have got more aggressive how batsman going approach their Innings the fact

That it seems as though you the belief now you’re you you’re playing shots that are more familiar to to you than they were when we played you know the V was a genuine thing whereas now you’ve seen players who are coming through the ranks and swapping and changing from one um

Sort of the game to the other type of the game I mean Ricky when you look at it how much of an impact has the T20 had on all forms oh look there’s no doubt that it’s I think it’s had a it’s had an impact I’m not sure how great an impact it’s

Had I think I think it just depends who you pick in your test teams I mean if you look at the way Australia uh probably even India and even New Zealand to that point like we haven’t really adopted that Ultra aggressive approach that England have adopted you know and I

Think what we’ve seen since Brendan’s been in charge of this English test team that they’re willing to play one way and most other countries are going to play the other way and they’re going to see whose method sort of stands up under under the most pressure and you know

Australia’s method stood up in land England’s method probably hasn’t stood up in India in pretty trying conditions so but I I’ve got a feeling that the way we start the way we start to pick test teams because there’s so much exposure to the T20 game at a long a lot younger

Age now I think a lot more guys are going to get picked into test Cricket out of T20 backgrounds that all David Warner all those years ago we’ve got another kid in in Australia now um Jake Frozen mcer I’m not sure you’ve seen him he’s really burst onto the scene in Big

Bash this year and he’s he’s probably going to work his way into a test team on the the back of T20 performances so he’s got hisem don’t worry I butan he’s drafting exactly everyone’s auctioning there’s there’s bids going left he’s expensive right but that’s to to your

Point he’s expensive all of a sudden you’re in a Marketplace for players I mean and there’s so many different T20 leagues around the world flim I mean is this is this the best way to take Cricket to the rest of the world well to a degree go right back and

Your initial question we had pioneers of the game you look at the gilchris vi Richards um and you had Kevin Peterson shwag who tried things but the establishment in the the history of the game keept suppressing it now what T20 has done is allowed these players just to be free

And you you’re seeing a crop of players who have no fear the skill level has gone up as they trained and practiced this but the players certainly players that I play with if they had that same Freedom would have would have probably been able to do the same thing it’s just

That the attitude towards it has changed and that’s a good thing it’s entertainment business that we’re in it’s entertaining people T20 has done that it’s also hopefully going to bridge the gap where you have school children that play and then you lose them for a period of time because it’s too time

Consuming so teach when you can feel that what you have to watch now though is that the the coaching methods are the other way around so it used to be defense first then learn how to get an attacking game now these young kids are coming with such a massive attacking

Game the defense is dying so when it gets a little bit tricky you seeing teams being bowled out really cheap because the skills aren’t quite as good because they’re not honed over um days and weeks and hours of practice defense and In First Class Cricket so you’re getting this product where these kids

Are incredibly skillful but there might be a league spinner they do well something a little bit different a mystery spinner and they have great success because the knowledge of cricket is slowly dying defensively slowly dying because T20 is so attractive to hit the ball and get the money and BR Bright

Lights that’s a great explanation is that a rehears Happ that was amazing that’s the best I’ve ever you deliver was just all of a sudden you got into the zone and there it came out well I was going to elaborate on it because if you look back five or six years ago

Glenn Maxwell was always criticized about his reverse sweeps and reverse hitting and and but if he had put them in the cup then he wouldn’t have turned into the player that he’s become now he he wouldn’t have been able to make that 200 in the in the world cup to get

Austral across the line be so you know it wasn’t it wasn’t sort of beat out of these players and he was he was strong enough to put his hand up and say no I know if I get this right and the only way I can get it right is to take the

Ups and downs in game to get it right and because he’s had so much success doing it in game it’s become second nature to him and now he’s almost impossible to bowl to in the 50 over game with the you know with the Field restrictions the way they are there’s

Always a gap when the Spinners are on and you know got he’s able to manipulate manipulate the field the way he wants it it’s still some rumbling though when Joe root plays the old reverse sweep it sort of the old establishment takes a big gas bre exactly absolutely there St and

You’ll see if it doesn’t quite work out how the the English media now treat the in a test match with a new ball might be slightly different than playing it in the back half of a 50 over game true I had a feeling that’s what happened in

This chat that’s just start talking to each other that’s generally what happens when these two guys get together let’s talk about Australian cricket though because probably no one’s no country’s had as many great errors as Australian cricket has had so uh do you feel they in one right now pter with this group

Here are they the beginning of one or compared to yours and then the era before that I mean do you look at that and go you know what they they’ve created something special just like the team you had y absolutely I don’t think there’s any doubt about it I mean they

Might have some of the things that’s Wars team did and you know the team that I wi winning 16 consecutive test matches that’s not an easy thing to do and this team might be able to do it but if you look at the the numbers of the players I

Mean the the the F the the bowling group that are together now with the three Quicks and Nathan L have I think they’ve all taken now maybe in excess of 300 wickets each that’s never happened in the history of the game where you got four Bowlers in the same team with over

300 test wickets in fact it hadn’t happened when there was over 250 test wiget so you look at that bowling group and you got to say gez that’s probably as good as any bowling attack that’s ever played the game um you know there’ll be arguments you know mcgr Lee

Warn you know Gillespie that that attack is is that as good then you look at the Batters you know Smith averages 60 labber Shan’s up in the high 50s kaage is averaging over 50 now Travis Ed’s averaged 50 the last couple of years so it’s it’s pretty hard to argue against

How good this this current team is across all three formats as well you know they won the 50 over World Cup T20 World Cup’s just around the corner but they’re certainly leaving their own Mark and their own legacy on the game no doubt about it is that what you see Flyn

When you see that group yeah it sort of snuck up on it on me really um and it’s when you start hearing those stats you see the World Cups and they got a chance of winning all three which is would be very unique and a great achievement uh

The only question is a little bit of longevity like the the teams that P mentioned the Steve Ward team and and Ricky team there was a long period of time now whether there’s not quite as long a period of dominance which could happen could be well truly on the way to

That um but no doubt the numbers and the way they play and the skill that they have they are right up there I want to talk about great players you know and you know when you reflect on careers and who you played with and you know you’re

A great player yourself hter so this is a hard question because a lot of players would say you when you think about the guys that you played with or it might have been played against who who were the best who was the best of them Z Callis is the best cricketer that I

Played against and absolutely hands down there is no doubt about it you look at a complete cricketer I mean he he was just a a born cricketer big strong guy best play ever play the game he’s got to be there’s an argument there to say that

Mean you know if look at if you if you look at his bowling career only he he survived in test Cricket as a bowler you know nearly 300 test wickets as a bowler and then 40 OD test hundreds at at mid-50s I mean has there ever been a

Better play isn’t it isn’t it britley as a bowler and Ricky Ponting as a better I don’t know he pretty close to in stat I think it’s something like that you put it that the impact he had on the game right yeah and and and probably 300 slip

Catches as well I mean he’s just a just a born cricketer and he was someone that never went to the gym all the time you know he bat and ball in the Nets he was just a just a cricketer um Lara was the best and most skilled batsman that I

Ever saw you know T doka technically um the best that I ever played with or against but I never had the same fear that he was going to take a game away from me like I did with with Brian Brian you know he could just win a game off

His own bat and had to most of his career in the West Indies teams that he played in um so you know if he if if West Indies were chasing a score on day five and I was going to sleep at um uh bedtime on day four and Lara was still

Out there I wasn’t sleeping too well cuz I knew what he was capable of he was probably still out there though not just the night before getting ready for the day after you know he he was well I don’t know it’d be interesting to see

What you say but he he was just a match one yeah no I actually concur with both of those Call’s longevity as well to play two the SL three formats and do what he did bowling wise Wasim Aram was was the one I add to that list but um

Lara exactly the same reasons as well summed up akam to me was the most skilled natural bowler that that I fa there some beautiful Bowlers around War um obviously mcra and that the great players Courtney W Ambrose magnificent but Aram in terms of the subtlety and skill that he had was in

Pace was was a amazing athlete so the reason I asked that is because the debate about New Zealand’s greatest Cricket always comes up right and we know Sir Richard Hedley and and forever we all watch the class growing up of Martin Crow but we’ve got someone in Kane Williamson who’s just continued to

Deliver and been through some challenges injury-wise but every time he’s been out there for consistent per to time flim the stats don’t lie about how effective he’s been at at pretty much all forms of the game where where do you see Kane Williamson into the list of great New Zealand

Cricketers well the fact you’re debating him with Sir Richard Headley is is a sign that he’s right up there no doubt about it so Richard just the ability to to win games and to do it long period of time bat and and ball gets a special mention but but Kane’s numbers uh are

Extraordinary from a New Zealand player who’s breaking all sorts of Records he’s pushes ceiling up so high he dragged others with him I’m sure in the way in which he’s done it and the way he conducts himself it’s just business as usual so it’s look it’s it’s very close

That’s emotional and I actually don’t like ranking them but they’re so Good by by far so much better than anything we’ve had they’re just extraordinary he brought up a great word before and that was longevity I think by the time Kan finishes he’ll be New Zealand’s greatest

Player like he’s he’s not there yet but he’s has he played 100 test uh just coming up I think the series is 100 another 40 or 50 tests ahead of him he could make mid 40 test match hundreds if he does that then he will be New Zealand’s greatest player just want to

Ask another question about Kane because it’s there’s almost a classical way he’s gone about it though when you look at him you know you look at how you know a lot of the great runs scorers are really really aggressive but he seems to still do it within himself am I right in

Saying that when when I watch him play um is that the what you guys see I mean cuz you guys are living and breathing it every day I’m just watching him from a from an average fan watching I’m going it’s like it’s low risk and the way he

Goes about it and scoring I think it’s a little bit condition dependent it’s a good track he scores all those guys rout um Coley the the Feb four they they score when they’re going well they’re R about a running ball they’ve easily scored hundreds just below like 70 or 80

Strike rate which was a hell of a strike rate in one day Cricket when we played but they when they’re on but you’ve also see Kane and the the last test against South Africa s almost drop anch it was difficult so very much condition base

Which is one of his skills he just he he sums it up very well and then just and just uses the uh the style or method that he wants it’s going to get the job done well big news announced in the last couple of days Neil Wagner has decided

It’s time to call and Paul stumps on his test career for the black caps what impact do you think he has had on this team and what’s he added to this group we saw a huge amount it’s underrated because what he became he he became the thought the spinner he bow The Spinners

Overs but he did them in an aggressive way so when the game was Meandering had had s and Bolton Json swinging and seaming it when it was just son to meander he would come in with a technique that was a little bit controversial but it was a real skill to

Be able to get guys unsettled it did two things it stopped scoring but it also got some wickets so they were able to then use that as a defensive end and rotate the other end and in some ways it was demise of spin spin didn’t really

Play a part because he was doing those overs doing them so well and and doing it for so long in terms of the spells that he could bow that he really owned that space it was quite unique and to be honest I think other teams picked up on

The back of that as well we saw Australia use it in the ashes we’ve seen England use it as well like that short sharp burst of 68 10 overs where the field goes back the the scoreboard stops you pick up a couple of Wis along the way actually Australia used it

Beautifully at Lords in the second test in the ashers you England were one for 160 CS reverts to this heavy onside field short ball attack they lost six wickets in about half an hour and the Test match is gone so that might not have happened if Wagner and New Zealand

Hadn’t brought that into the game four or five easier and and the type of energy he used to bring I mean those players sometimes are just valuable to have in your squad right all they lift everyone up he he would bowl 10 over spells of it wouldn’t he run Bend his

Back and just keep coming and coming you you don’t find those guys all the time that one are willing to do it put their body on the line and are good enough to do it over a long period of time but it says a lot about him what his team

Needed at the time that you know it maybe this is not exactly the way I want to bowl but my team me need me to do it I’m going to run in and do it and see if I can change the course of the game there also

To be a to cuz two two and over the bouncers one even started doing then two per so if you blew them early then the tactics over so the ability to operate horrible and you can see guys trying to work out where how are they going to play it aggressively or defensively and

And constantly sort of getting them in a be horrible to face you guys are just like me when I start talking about rugby you get knee deeper you all of a sudden you start talking through because it’s great because I love hearing it you know it’s it’s when when there’s people who

Have played at such a high level and who are living and breathing out like you guys are you’re not doing that now though and I think it’s really important we do focus on now when you think about our team if we we’ve got someone in our group who can change the energy levels

In Air Group who is it fim you’re the skipper who are you relying on to turn the group around if things aren’t quite firing look at me I’m looking at you is that cuz he’s the best golfer no where’s Andy where’s Andy Andy you a lot guys

Who can yap yap yap but when you really need some substance I think I think it’s you big guy okay so come we’re thinking come Saturday possibly Sunday that this is our best bet right we haven’t had anyone go through I don’t think for a

Number of years you I think you were the last is that why you mentioned that you were the last one to play in the final that was n years ago that’s what I’m saying we haven’t had many people go through to be Fe and at times John hard

Has put a lot of pressure on us not to which is akin to match fixing so we’re going to that theory and actually and make a real play this this year I’m I’m like I’m back as Ash will get through I’m not sure what handicaps she’s on this this week she she’ll love

She’ll love being here she’ll love the she love the pressure she might just have to run off between NES and go and feed the baby and come back that’s only issue we’ve got she’s probably well and truly capable of doing that I have no doubt about it I’ll say this though uh

If there’s one person you’d like to be in the group who would it if if you for you when you can stand on that balcony on Sunday and you can look around the ambassadors go well at least I beat him oh Brendan Jones oh you me ambassadors

No not the the not the defending champion of the tournament um I I don’t I’m not really wide that way I’m really going for that team aspect je I know the leadership I expect from you but I know as a competitor you know I mean for you

Because I know how much it frustrates you when you don’t get the opportunity to go further cuz that’s what you love I mean is it oh well yeah i’ I’d like to make it through to the weekend but if I if if we don’t we don’t I mean as long

As I beat beefy who’s the only palom in the field then I’ll be happy but you are to be fair you’re a golf snuff would that be fair to say you love it that would be fair on we’re all here because we love it right what’s not to love no

No I think Rick’s got a new level though last time I last time I saw him the first thing he said him just got all this new Callaway gear like like so don’t call me the golf SN I’m hitting at 20 M further while did he say which

Direction he didn’t say anything when you say watch the golf with Ricky and every Pro walks past good Panda how are you mate you good yeah yeah good how you going to play how you going they know who the best is Ricky you SE anything in

My game that’s the one actually he was very helpful to me today so I’ll take everything I possibly get flam Good Luck pter Good Luck let’s have another great week here on Queens thanks SC