 | « Back to article | Print this article |
Australian captain Ricky Ponting has rubbished speculation that he would stand down from the One-day side after the 2011 World Cup, by saying that he is determined to steer Australian cricket through its most tumultuous period in two decades.
"I honestly haven't seen a finish-line yet, which is a good thing," he said.
"Every day is still a challenge training-wise and game-wise. One thing I'm proud of is the amount of cricket I've been able to play and some of the wins I've been involved in. All the runs and hundreds are great but they've never been the reason why I've played the game. Nothing's different now," the Daily Telegraph quoted Ponting, as saying.
Ponting knows his form must improve if he wants to avoid a tap on the shoulder from the national selectors.
The Test skipper has scored just one ton from his last 43 international innings. In 22 One-day matches in the 2010 calendar year, Ponting scored 771 runs at 36.71, below-par returns for a batting phenomenon rated Australia's best since Bradman.
"I'd love to keep playing but I'm only going to keep playing if I think I can contribute to the team and help win games of cricket," he said.
"I don't want to be standing in anyone's way. If there are players better than me to play one-day cricket or Test cricket, if that's the case I'm happy to move aside," he said.
The Australians embark on a One-day tour of Bangladesh straight after the World Cup before Test trips to Sri Lanka and South Africa from August to November this year.
Photograph: Getty Images