Ponting statue unveiled in Hobart

On the day that Ricky Ponting took up permanent residence at his former home ground, he waded into the debate over the future of international cricket in Hobart by calling for the Tasmania capital to host a Test match every summer.

Ponting, who this morning unveiled a statue in his likeness on the concourse behind the recently completed Ricky Ponting Stand at Blundstone Arena, claimed a proper assessment of Test cricket’s popularity on the Apple Isle cannot be made on the basis of irregular five-day games scheduled for Hobart.

And to make a fair comparison with other Test venues on the mainland, he has called for Test matches involving the biggest-drawing cricket nations – England, South Africa and India – to be programmed for Blundstone Arena over coming years.

Speculation has increased over recent days that Canberra’s Manuka Oval is firming as a Test venue given the historic difficulty in attracting large crowds to Hobart, which has hosted 11 Tests over the past 26 years – all featuring either the West Indies, Sri Lanka, Pakistan or New Zealand.

"There will be Test cricket here as far as I’m concerned," Ponting said today when asked if he thought Test cricket at Blundstone Arena would remain as permanent a fixture as the bronzed likeness of him executing a trademark pull shot.

Ricky Ponting and his bronzed likeness in Hobart // Getty Images

"I think some of the criticism (of attendances) has been a bit unfair.

"What I would like to see is that Hobart and Tasmania get a Test match every year.

"It's pretty hard to make assumptions on Tasmanian cricket or people coming to watch Test cricket in Australia when there’s no continuity about where the games are.

"The Tasmanian public are being judged on Test matches against lower-ranked teams.

"Let’s have an Ashes Test match, let’s have a Test match against South Africa, let’s have a Test match against India here and then we can start making some judgements and comparisons with other venues around Australia.

"I’ve got my Tasmanian hat on obviously but I think that’s really fair.

"And hopefully the Hobart and Tasmanian public turn out over the next few days."

Ponting, a member of the ICC’s influential World Cricket Committee that makes recommendations about the game’s development and innovations, pointed out that Test match attendances across the globe have been dwindling over the recent past.

And that the introduction of day-night cricket, pioneered at last month’s historic pink ball match between Australia and New Zealand at the Adelaide Oval, is but one potential solution being explored.

But he also cited the concurrent retirements of giants of the game – the likes of India’s Sachin Tendulkar, the West Indies Brian Lara and South Africa’s Jacques Kallis – that have impacted on Test cricket’s appeal as the next generation of superstars establish themselves at international level.

Amid talk that a bulk of future Test matches played in Australia outside of the Christmas-New Year school holiday period will be day-night fixtures, Ponting indicated that the pink ball format would work as successfully in Hobart as it did in Adelaide last month

"If that is what it is going to take down here – well, absolutely," Ponting said when asked if he supported a day-night Test match for Hobart which was the other venue reportedly in the running to host the historic New Zealand Test that was ultimately staged in Adelaide.

"We have heard Cricket Australia talk about the right place and the right time for day-night Test cricket, and if attendances are down over the next few days (at Blundstone Arena) it might be exactly what Hobart needs.

"We have unbelievable facilities here.

"They are world-class with the stands and lights.

"It is now what you would expect for an international cricket venue so why not?"