The Prince and the Punter

[Donny]

Prince, Punter at odds

By Jon Pierik - Fox Sports
November 18, 2003

TONIGHT'S tri-series final is as much a battle between two captains who have led lives of total contrast as it is a contest between two proud cricketing nations.

It's about the self-made, blue-collared Ricky Ponting taking on his counterpart Sourav Ganguly, a man who has enjoyed a pampered and privileged existence.

It is about the humble surrounds of Launceston coming up against the mansions of Calcutta's southern Behola neighbourhood.

It's about the "Punter", who loves nothing better than watching his greyhounds race, meeting "the Maharaj" (a term meaning a high-ranking Indian prince), who enjoys whizzing about town in his red sports convertible.

Both men are confident, strong and, in Ganguly's case, particularly opinionated.

Ganguly has never wanted for anything in life. He is the son of mega-rich parents who own one of Calcutta's best-known printing firms.

And he is a man used to getting what he wants.

When his parents and his wife's family objected to their marriage - the two families had owned a printing firm together many years earlier before a major disagreement saw them spilt - Sourav and Dona eloped and got married in a nearby temple.

Their relationship, though, has helped to bring the two families back together again.

Even as a young cricketer, Ganguly quickly showed his elitist roots.

On one occasion on his first tour of Australia in 1991-92, he stunned his more senior teammates by refused to accept his 12th man duties.

"Sorry, but I don't carry drinks," he said.

Ponting found trouble off the field in his early years in the Australian side but is now a well-respected leader of men.

Ganguly's supporters say he has been unfairly tainted through the years.

It's not his fault, they say, that he went to some of the best schools, where he was encouraged to speak up and think about issues.

Ganguly was always one of the first to put his hand up in class and answer questions - something in which he took particular delight.

Two years ago he annoyed Steve Waugh like few other cricketers have every done, turning up late to the toss and not wearing the team blazer.

Ganguly saw how incensed Waugh became and used this to his advantage through that epic Test series.

In their few meetings - including through the World Cup this year - Ponting says he hasn't had a problem with Ganguly.

With so much on the line, that may change today.