Everybody knows that Ricky Ponting is an imperious puller and hooker, but South Africa's bowlers couldn't help but feed his habit at Durban. As our graph shows, Ponting scored 74% of his runs on the leg side (66 out of 89), the majority through midwicket and square leg. Ponting was utterly ruthless on the bad ball: when South Africa's bowlers found a good length he managed a respectful 15 off 60 balls (equivalent to 1.5 runs per over), but when they erred either too full or especially too short, they paid the price: Ponting walloped 74 runs off just 40 balls, a rate of 11 an over.

His treatment of David Terbrugge was the harshest: Ponting scored 24 off 30 balls, but that doesn't tell the full story. Terbrugge dropped short on six occasions, and was punished for 16 runs.

It was top-quality stuff - 72% of Ponting's runs came in boundaries (64 out of 89), and only two to third man and fine leg. It was always going to take something special to finish his innings, and so it proved – not from a bowler, but a brilliant piece of fielding from Herschelle Gibbs at point that ran Ponting out.

Rob Smyth is on the staff of Wisden.com.

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