Quote:
Originally Posted by DeusEx
I actually thought Ponting's recent ODI form was better, but it's not actually that great. Last year (2010!) he only averaged 36. That's alright but it's definately not outstanding. I guess it's a whole heap better relative to his test form anyway.
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That's his batting form- undeniable that he is going through a bad patch as all good bats do from time to time. The problem comes when all your recognised bats hit bad patches at the same time- as has happened with the Aussie team (and the England team in the past!).
But take a look at Ponting's overall captaincy record:
* Most victories as ODI captain: 122
* Most victories as Test captain: 47
* Highest victory rate as ODI captain in more than 20 matches: 75.74%
* Most Cricket World Cups won as captain: 2, shared with Clive Lloyd
* Most consecutive Test victories won as captain: 16, shared with Steve Waugh
* Undefeated as Captain in World Cups (23 matches)
* Most consecutive Ashes defeats in England: 2, shared with Billy Murdoch
People might say "Yeah- but that's all in the past!" But they didn't say that when Mitch Johnson was brought back into the side, after being dropped for bad form, and then was the main reason Australia won the 3rd Ashes Test.
With captaincy, it is experience that matters. Whether Ponting is in batting form or not, his record as a captain demonstrates his true value to the side.