Australia's Ricky Ponting looks down during a news conference at the Sydney Cricket Ground Tuesday, where he announced he was retiring as the country's Test and one-day cricket captain. (Reuters) SYDNEY: Ricky Ponting, the most successful captain in 134 years of Test cricket, resigned as the Australian Test and one-day skipper Tuesday but aims to continue playing the game at the highest level. The 36-year-old had led Australia in One-Day Internationals since 2002 and Tests since 2004, a period encompassing his country's absolute domination of world cricket and steady decline after the retirement of a golden generation of players. With Cricket Australia under pressure to sack him in the wake of a home Ashes defeat to England and a quarterfinal exit as defending champion at the World Cup this year, the tough Tasmanian decided to fall on his sword. “I've had the chance to think long and hard about it and today I've decided to stand down as captain of the Test team and the one-day team as of now,” he told a news conference at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). “I am really excited about the next chapter in my career ... I think I've got a lot to offer as a player and certainly as a leader for some of the younger players around, if and when required.” He will almost certainly be replaced by Michael Clarke Wednesday and said letting his successor have next month's tour of Bangladesh to start putting his own imprint on the team was a key factor in the timing of his decision. “I think the timing was absolutely perfect,” he said. “I wanted to make sure that the person coming in had as much time as possible to get themselves prepared and get their focus on where they want the team to go.” Ponting denied he had jumped before he was pushed. “I'll absolutely go on record here to say that I've had absolutely no tap on the shoulder,” he said. “This is a decision that's been wholly and solely made by me and people close to me...” Australia won 48 of 77 Tests and 164 of 228 One-Day Internationals, including two World Cups, under Ponting. No other captain has won as many games in either form. Admired but rarely loved in Australia, Ponting admitted that his tenure as his country's 42nd Test captain would probably be remembered by some for the three Ashes series losses he oversaw. “It's funny how we talk about losing the Ashes series three times,” he said. “Playing on three World Cup winning teams doesn't come up every often, winning 16 consecutive Test matches doesn't come up very much, winning 30-odd consecutive World Cup matches doesn't come up very often. “I know within myself ... what I've achieved in the game and I'm very proud of it.” Cricket Australia said the new captain would be named Wednesday and Ponting gave strong backing to Clarke, who stood in for the injured captain in the final Ashes test and for the one-day series against England that followed. Ponting hopes to play in Bangladesh and on the Test tours of Sri Lanka and South Africa later in the year and said selectors should resist calls for a wholesale clear-out of players in their mid-30s.
