Ponting promises to review his Test future, says still has lot to offer

MELBOURNE - Beleaguered Australia’s skipper Ricky Ponting has said that he still has lot to offer the team after suffering his third Ashes series defeat today at the MCG.

Australia lost the fourth Test by an innings and 157 runs to go 2-1 down in the five-match series, and Ponting returned scores of 10 and 20 to leave him with only 113 runs from eight innings.

Interviewed by ABC radio, Ponting said: “I’ve got to make the decision that I feel is right for Australian cricket right at the moment … As a player and a captain I still think I’ve got a lot to offer the Australian cricket team, but I’ve got to sit down and obviously think about that at the end of this game.”

Giving full credit to England for outplaying his team, he said: “They’ve played some very, very good Test match cricket, probably up to the standard they thought they were capable of … You don’t turn up in Australia and beat an Australian cricket team as easily as they have without being well-played and well-prepared.”

Ponting rued losing the toss on day one, but refused to blame the tough conditions on Boxing Day morning for his team’s massive loss, The Sydney Morning Herald reports.

“It was tough, but it probably wasn’t a 98 all out wicket. Then they showed us how to bat in Test match cricket and to post that sort of total it was always going to be hard for us to fight our way back into the game and we haven’t been able to do it,” he said.

The Australian skipper went into the game with a broken little finger, and left the MCG early this morning to have the offending digit X-rayed, before returning to watch the final moments of the Test match.

Ponting is not in favour of major changes to the Australian team for the final Test in Sydney. (ANI)