UFOs_-_BBC_News.txt
Ricky_Ponting_Welsh_Fire_want_former_Australia_captain_as_2026_Hundred_head_coach_-_BBC_Sport.txt
Welsh Fire want Ponting as Hundred coach in 2026Image source,1649 lotofácil Getty ImagesImage caption, Ricky Ponting scored 27,483 runs and made 71 hundreds for Australia in 560 international matches across all formatsByTimothy AbrahamBBC Sport JournalistPublished6 September 2025Welsh Fire have identified Ricky Ponting as their preferred men's head coach for next year's edition of The Hundred.BBC Sport understands the franchise plan to approach the former Australia captain for talks over the role.Ponting, who played 560 times for Australia between 1995 and 2012, combines work as a television pundit with franchise coaching stints.The 50-year-old is the current head coach of Indian Premier League side Punjab Kings and Washington Freedom in USA's Major League Cricket (MLC).Freedom's owners paid ￡40m for a 50% stake in Welsh Fire during this year's sales of The Hundred franchises.Fire have been coached by another Australian, Mike Hussey, for three consecutive seasons after he replaced Gary Kirsten in 2023.Hussey, 50, guided Fire to their best-ever finish of fourth in his first year in charge - narrowly missing out on a spot in the Eliminator on net run-rate.However, Fire have largely struggled since and they finished bottom of the standings this year.Ponting is seen as having the personality, profile and coaching skills to galvanise the Cardiff-based outfit as The Hundred begins a new era following huge investment in the 100-ball competition.Ponting led Mumbai Indians to the IPL title in 2015 before a seven-year spell in charge of Delhi Capitals, who made the play-offs three times under his stewardship.In the United States, he oversaw Freedom's first MLC title in 2024 and they just missed out on back-to-back titles with a narrow defeat to MI New York in this year's final.Tasmania-born Ponting was courted by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2019 for a coaching Hundred job but it never transpired.Ponting was also linked with replacing Matthew Mott as England's white-ball coach in 2024 but ruled himself out, citing the time commitments an international role requires.Related topicsAustraliaFranchise CricketThe HundredCricketMore on this storyHundred windfall a 'game changer' - Derbyshire CEOPublished4 SeptemberWhat will The Hundred look like in 2026?Published2 SeptemberGet cricket news sent straight to your phonePublished16 August
