<p><br />"I thought Ricky was crap when he was first captain in 2004 and nothing much has improved since then," said the 58-year-old, 100 of whose 200 Test wickets have come against Ashes rivals England.</p>.<p>"I'm not the only one who thinks that. I've always bagged him and everyone at home thinks he's s**** at the captaincy. He's a great player but captaincy is a totally different thing," he said at a charity dinner here.</p>.<p>Thomson said he couldn't believe when Ponting was picked as captain in 2004.</p>.<p>"I couldn't believe it when he'd been picked as captain. There was no-one else to pick but Ponting still had no experience.</p>.<p>"He'd only captained one side ever before. How did he get to lead Australia with that sort of experience? He was in a side that had very good players and now he's got a side that has average players. He's still left wanting," Thomson said.</p>.<p>Thomson said Ponting's on-field mannerisms are not of a leader and he is the first to panic when the team is in trouble. </p>.<p>"You see it on him - he gets frustrated. He worries when the players don't do what he's used to with the ball when he passes it to them," he said.</p>.<p>"The choices he makes, his field settings and the things he does are never right."</p>.<p>After Ponting, Thomson turned his ire on spinner Nathan Hauritz and said even part-timers like Simon Katich and Michael Clarke stand a better chance of grabbing a wicket.</p>.<p>"... he (Ponting) has got a bloke in there who can't even spin a ball (Nathan Hauritz). Simon Katich and Michael Clarke have more chance of taking a wicket than Hauritz.</p>.<p>"Why go for a guy like that? I don't rate Hauritz," said Thomson.</p>.<p>Thomson, however, still picked Australia as the favourite for the Ashes that starts July 8.</p>.<p>"England have the edge in the captaincy department. But while England have a better captain, Australia have a better line-up."</p>.<p>On Australia's possible line-up for the five-Test series, Thomson said he didn't see pacer Brett Lee finding a place in the side.</p>.<p>"I don't see a place for Brett Lee in this side. He hasn't played for such a long time. Mitchell Johnson is a handy bowler but what's really added another string to his bow is his batting - he's a really good batsman. He bats properly and is a good hitter of the ball. He's got defence and attack." </p>
<p><br />"I thought Ricky was crap when he was first captain in 2004 and nothing much has improved since then," said the 58-year-old, 100 of whose 200 Test wickets have come against Ashes rivals England.</p>.<p>"I'm not the only one who thinks that. I've always bagged him and everyone at home thinks he's s**** at the captaincy. He's a great player but captaincy is a totally different thing," he said at a charity dinner here.</p>.<p>Thomson said he couldn't believe when Ponting was picked as captain in 2004.</p>.<p>"I couldn't believe it when he'd been picked as captain. There was no-one else to pick but Ponting still had no experience.</p>.<p>"He'd only captained one side ever before. How did he get to lead Australia with that sort of experience? He was in a side that had very good players and now he's got a side that has average players. He's still left wanting," Thomson said.</p>.<p>Thomson said Ponting's on-field mannerisms are not of a leader and he is the first to panic when the team is in trouble. </p>.<p>"You see it on him - he gets frustrated. He worries when the players don't do what he's used to with the ball when he passes it to them," he said.</p>.<p>"The choices he makes, his field settings and the things he does are never right."</p>.<p>After Ponting, Thomson turned his ire on spinner Nathan Hauritz and said even part-timers like Simon Katich and Michael Clarke stand a better chance of grabbing a wicket.</p>.<p>"... he (Ponting) has got a bloke in there who can't even spin a ball (Nathan Hauritz). Simon Katich and Michael Clarke have more chance of taking a wicket than Hauritz.</p>.<p>"Why go for a guy like that? I don't rate Hauritz," said Thomson.</p>.<p>Thomson, however, still picked Australia as the favourite for the Ashes that starts July 8.</p>.<p>"England have the edge in the captaincy department. But while England have a better captain, Australia have a better line-up."</p>.<p>On Australia's possible line-up for the five-Test series, Thomson said he didn't see pacer Brett Lee finding a place in the side.</p>.<p>"I don't see a place for Brett Lee in this side. He hasn't played for such a long time. Mitchell Johnson is a handy bowler but what's really added another string to his bow is his batting - he's a really good batsman. He bats properly and is a good hitter of the ball. He's got defence and attack." </p>