Ricky Ponting reveals he was offered the England coaching job before Brendon McCullum and ‘Bazball’

It has been one of the worst kept secrets in cricket, but Aussie icon Ricky Ponting has finally publicly admitted that he turned down the job of England coach last year.

While England is down 0-1 in the current Ashes series against Australia, coach Brendon ‘Baz’ McCullum has engineered a dramatic turnaround in the last 12 months with the high-risk, high-reward ‘Bazball’ style of play.

However, before Bazball, there was almost Punterball with the Australian champion No.3 batsman sounded out for the job before the New Zealander was appointed. 

Ponting has confirmed what MailSport reported in April, 2022, that Ponting had ruled himself out of the role after telling director of cricket Rob Key he was not interested in the job.

‘I actually got asked before Brendon took the job, there you go. You guys might be the first to find that out — but I did take some calls from Robert Key as soon as he took over that job,’ Ponting told Guerilla Cricket.

How MailOnline reported England chasing Ricky Ponting for the top job back in April last year 

Captain Ben Stokes (left) is a major part of Bazball along with McCullum (right), with the aggressive style of play making a huge mark

‘But I’m just not ready for a full-time international coaching job, where I’m at in my life.

‘Having travelled as much as I have, with young kids now I just don’t want to be away as much as I was. 

‘And even talking to Brendon, his family is only just arriving today. When you’ve got kids that are in school, moving them around, that’s not what I want to do.’

It was a sliding doors moment for English cricket, but fortunately not one that cost them.

Under the Bazball approach of rattling up boundaries and using aggressive fields and early declarations, England has gone from the Test cricket cellar to the penthouse.

The Ashes defeat at Edgbaston was just the third loss England has suffered in 14 Tests since McCullum was appointed in May last year.

Prior to Bazball, England had crashed to just one win in 17 Tests under former mentor Chris Silverwood.  

England adopted Bazball in the first Ashes Test and while it was entertaining, Australia still escaped with a narrow victory

Ponting has a lucrative commentary gig and coaches in the rich Indian Premier League  

Bazball is not the sole creation of McCullum, though, with new captain Ben Stokes also playing an instrumental role in the approach.

Former captain Joe Root has admitted that if he had his time again, he would adopt the same style.

‘If I could go back in time I would go back and start my captaincy tenure the way Ben [Stokes] has, and try to play in a similar manner to how he does it,’ Root said. 

‘It’s far more exciting, far more interesting and I think we are getting more out of our team and our individuals.’ 

Ponting is regarded as one of the greatest coaches to never be at the helm of a Test cricket nation.

He briefly served as an assistant coach for the Australian T20 side and also coaches in the Indian Premier League with the Delhi Daredevils.