I'm the right choice as captain: Punter

Australia suffered its third successive Test defeat after losing the series 0-2 against India. First it was spin legend Shane Warne, who questioned Ponting’s captaincy and now former paceman Geoff Lawson has urged the Australian selectors to remove Ponting from the top job.

Lawson said Australia should follow India’s example of letting Sachin Tendukar focus on batting rather than burden him with captaincy.

Lawson strongly feels that it’s time that Michael Clarke be given the reins of the team. “I mean he’s now lost five series, it may be time to say, ‘Look mate, we’ve got Michael Clarke ready to go with a nice fresh young mind. He can be the captain and you focus on your batting and try to restore yourself to the level we know you’re capable’,” Lawson said.
However, when asked if he was the right man to captain Australia this summer, Ponting said, “Absolutely, I’ve got no doubt about that at all.”

Ponting, who arrived in Sydney on Friday after India’s tour, said he can’s do much if his captaincy is under fire but was disappointed that he could not cash in on the good starts he got in the Test series. “I was back on top of my game in India after a reasonably lean 12 months. I was disappointed not to have capitalised on some of the great starts.
“I’m still learning about my own game and captaincy, and if the rest of the players learned a bit from the last trip, it should hold us in good stead.”