Ponting - Genius or Tainted?. Review on Ricky Ponting

There may be many people who may not agree with some of the things I say, but I have some stark views on Ricky Ponting.

Whilst the Australian captain has proven his worth over the years as a batsman, I do not believe he is as strong a captain as the Australians can get hold of. Nor do I approve of his general attitude on the field.

When the Aussies mysteriously lost to Bangladesh, it was Ponting who lost his head. This shadowed over the Test series loss to England, but why is this. It seems that the team had lost confidence in his ability, his style of captaincy, the bizarre field settings and his irrepressible ego.

When he was legitimately run out by whodat Gary Pratt, he did not act in a manner consummate to the position of captain. Instead of walking quietly to the pavilion, he unleashed a torrent of abuse towards the England balcony. Leading by example? I think not! He stuck too long with certain bowlers, was not supportive enough of Jason Gillespie when he went through his tough spot and threw Shaun Tait to the rampant Trescothick, Pietersen and Flintoff to chew up.

In my opinion, Shane Warne would make a far better captain. His success as Ponting's right hand man -ie. taking all the big decisions - has already shown he has tactical nous. He is also a model professional ON the pitch, where it matters. His success with Hampshire in the English County league has shown he can steer a team to success, and with the new flow of Aussie cricketers coming through, there would be no better time to change, allowing Ponting to concentrate on batting and planting seeds of change in the stale Australian game.