Under the guidance of head coach Ricky Ponting, Washington Freedom clinched their first title during the MLC 2024 season. Apart from the team’s performance, Ponting’s sweat allowed him to lead by example to build a high-performance environment and bring in a winning culture.
According to a source, Ponting has been consistently attending the training sessions after being Stepped down as Delhi Capitals head coach. He has been working the same with Washington Freedom for MLC 2024 season.
He was out there in the fields giving throwdown for almost the entire session. While the international star players came with vast experience from IPL 2024 and last month’s T20 World Cup 2024. Ponting would still be present for the domestic leagues with the same intensity. Ponting was out there giving throwdowns to Andrew Tye and Saurabh Netravalkar gave a chance in the finals.
“That’s just the way that I am. It’s ingrained in me. I’m not going to sit back and waste any time around cricket. And that’s one of the other things I say to the boys first off is I don’t like lazy people. I don’t like people with talent that don’t try and get the most out of themselves.”
“So if I can show that attitude as a retired player and almost impose on them the way that I want them to go about their cricket while I’m here then hopefully that only makes them better,” told Ponting.
Freedom looked well-polished from the start of the tournament. They joined in the playoffs after losing a game in the league stage, after resting five key players.
“What makes you angry?” asked the Freedom social media manager moments after the win. “Losing” responded Ponting in a steely voice. “What makes you happy?” asked the media manager again, “winning,” said Ponting this time around with a grin of a child.
“I had asked Ricky to allow me to bowl a bouncer or two every over as I was bowling with a bigger leg side boundary. He agreed in an instant and encouraged me to execute my game plans,” said Jasdeep While speaking in the post-match conference.
“This was before one of our games. Everybody’s doing their own thing, following their own pre-match routine. I was working with Michael Klinger on a fielding drill. I was working on picking up the ball and getting a good throw-in. And then Maxwell saw me do it. He came up to me and he literally spent 15-20 minutes before the game. He wasn’t doing his routine, he was with me trying to make sure I understood how to do the drill,” Bodugum said.
While the team management maintained a healthy dressing room environment, the owners went all out to facilitate the players in their off-field affairs. Netravalkar who had gone back home to California to expect the birth of his first child in the middle of the tournament, joined the squad after doctors perceived a few more days for the delivery of the child.
The team made a special arrangement for Netravalkar to fly in and out of Morrisville withing a day fo him to be back with his wife. Notably, he picked four wickets in the match.
“People like winners,” said Dhiraj Malhotra before the tournament. “If you look at those three teams, they have [won] 13 of the 16[17] IPL seasons, and it’s easier to build a fan base out of that.”
Freedom has a bold and refreshing brand of cricket in this edition of the MLC. After the victory, Washington Freedom’s Instagram handle has 10 times more followers compared to the previous season which proves Cricket has a fanbase beyond the boundary.
