“Move over, England – this is now the biggest rivalry in Australian cricket.” So said Ricky Ponting, Australian cricket great, just hours after Australia had secured the Border-Gavaskar trophy in the cricket against India. Ponting Wines at Manjits
It’s hard to argue against that – the series drew 837,000 in-person fans across five tests, over 1 million fans per session on television screens worldwide, and became the most-watched Test series in Australian history.
Ponting witnessed this first-hand, covering the series for Channel Seven. With his commentator duties satisfied at the end of the fifth Test, he treated a select group of guests at Sydney restaurant Manjits Wharf to conversation, questions, and glasses of his own wine brand, aptly titled Ponting Wines.
Taking to the stage for a Q&A with Pawan Luthra, CEO of the Indian Link Media Group, Ponting described a few of his wines. One of these, a McLaren Vale Shiraz named ‘The Pinnacle’, came in for special mention. “It owes its name to the pinnacle of all cricket battles, the Ashes,” Ponting said.
He added after a moment’s pause, clearly in light of what he had said earlier about England, “Looks like I’ll have to rename this one!”
The BGT, perhaps, Ricky?
Ponting Wines is a collaboration between Ricky and Ben Riggs, an award-winning Australian winemaker. Launched in 2019, its collection includes Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, and Rosé. Ponting himself is involved in all stages of the winemaking process. The brand has earned more than 60 gold medals at international and domestic wine shows and has won competitions like the Great Australian Shiraz Challenge. In fact, it has won that Challenge twice.
Each wine has a name relevant to either cricket or Ricky’s personal life, like his ‘366’ Shiraz Cabernet (Ponting was the 366th Test player for Australia). Guests at Manjits Wharf started off with Ponting’s ‘First Session’ Sauvignon Blanc, paired cleverly by head chef Varun Gujral with micro samosas and prawn pakoras.
This was followed by the ‘Rianna’ Rosé, named after Ponting’s wife, who introduced him to the refined nuances of wine and the art of savouring it.
The main course – butter chicken, bakra roganjosh, baingan takatak and daal – was served with the ‘Close of Play’ Cabernet Sauvignon. Ponting Wines at Manjits
To finish, a cheese platter was paired with the ‘Mowbray Boy’ Pinot Noir, Mowbray being the name of Ricky’s boyhood suburb in Launceston as well as his cricket club.
“I’m deeply involved in the business,” he clarified. “People think I’m just putting my name to someone else’s wine, it’s far from that.”
He described growing up in housing commissions in Tasmania, never having seen a bottle of wine on the family table. Today, he hopes, his post-cricket life will be fully dedicated to wines.
In his chat with Pawan Luthra, Ponting spoke about the events of the past summer, IPL, and some of the Indian greats we saw this season.
“Commentating this series has been a lot of fun,” he said. “Both teams have played their hearts out. It was sad to see Bumrah not take part in the last day of the game – although I think I’m the only Aussie that’s saying that.”
He also took some credit for Bumrah’s success. “I was his first captain at Mumbai Indians, and first coach – his first ever wicket at 17 years of age, was Virat Kohli.”
Talking of Kohli, Ponting was similarly authoritative on how he felt about the Indian star’s actions throughout the series.
“Kohli’s been angry since the moment he arrived. He’s always played with his heart on his sleeve, but little things started to stand out more. His interaction with the journalist in Melbourne, and the Konstas incident, (were) a sign of somebody that’s looking for something to complain about… (somebody) in a really bad spot. I knew Virat wouldn’t be making runs this series.”
When asked about whether aging batsmen should stay in a Test team until their next big score, or be told to make way by national selectors, Ponting was clear.
“I don’t think we’ll see Rohit Sharma play for India again in Test cricket,” he said. “Him ‘opting’ not to play this week was a play on words – I think he’s done.”
On Virat’s exit however, like many other commentators, he was more liberal.
“I think Virat gets the opportunity to go out whenever he wants. He’s a star of the game. But his drop off has been quite dramatic. I think he’ll play the next series [against England], but I don’t think it’ll be too long before he decides to hang the boots up.”
Moving on to the Indian Premier League, Ponting spoke about the opportunities – and challenges – that the competition poses. (He’s coaching Punjab Kings this season.)
“The IPL does effect (test cricket). Players from countries like Bangladesh and Afghanistan are not taking up national contracts. But it’s had a great effect as far as financial rewards for the players are concerned. I don’t think it’s had a great effect yet on Australian cricket, though. But you see youngsters like Jake Fraser-McGuirk, for example. He can play Test cricket for Australia, but with all the money he is earning in T20 cricket I’m not sure he’s going to make himself a better Test player.”
(Watch the full conversation on video here)
Yet he was confident that T20 is here to stay. “All formats of the game can still survive, but don’t expect them to be at their best all the time.” Ponting Wines at Manjits
With an unbelievable summer of cricket – which continues with the Women’s Ashes – Ricky’s event at Manjits offered the perfect opportunity to share in that passion.
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For more on Manjit’s Wharf, head here
