Ricky Ponting returns to lead Australia on Saturday, knowing he gets an immediate chance to exact revenge on England.

Ponting, 34, was granted a fortnight rest period following the 2-1 Ashes Test series loss - and his colleagues opened up a 3-0 NatWest Series lead in his absence.

They need to win only one of the final four matches, to seal the series - ironically thanks to the form of Cameron White, the man deputising for Ponting at number three in the order.

“Cameron’s played really well”

Twenty-six-year-old White has scored 200 runs in three innings, including a maiden one-day international hundred in the floodlit win at the Rose Bowl in midweek, and is now expected to switch to number seven.

“I might have to take someone down at training to get myself back into the side,” joked Ponting.

“Cameron’s played really well. I’ve been impressed with how he’s played in all three innings. I thought the way he controlled the innings for us the other night and his own innings was very good.

“He’s been in and around the side for a few years and been waiting for an opportunity to bat a little bit higher up the order.

“I think he showed us all over the last couple of weeks he’s more than capable of batting anywhere in the order - and that’s a real ‘positive’ for us and makes selections for Saturday’s game a little more difficult.”

Australia have now won 10 of their last 13 one-day internationals against England - although Ponting has observed from afar that, as in the Test campaign, there appears to be little between the teams.

“Clarke has done a good job captaining the side”

“The results have been one-sided, but the games have been closer than the results indicate,” he said.

“One-day cricket is a bit like that - the team that just grabs an opportunity when it comes up quite often goes on and wins games. They are probably a little bit more unsettled than we are at the moment.

“There’s a number of reasons why - we’ve played good cricket, and Michael Clarke has done a good job captaining the side.”

Ponting is certainly in better spirits than when he returned home in the immediate aftermath of that Ashes defeat.

“The reaction was pretty much what I expected,” he reported. “I don’t think there was anything that really shocked me too much about the way things were back in Australia.

“I think everybody in Australia really appreciated how good a series it was and how tight a contest it was through the whole series.

“For me it was all about clearing my mind and making sure that when I got back here I was ready to play well again.

“I feel terrific; I’ve had a few good sleeps over the last couple of nights, so I’ll be up nice and early and ready to go in the game.”

Australia also have a significant date at Lord’s next year, with one of the two neutral Tests against Pakistan scheduled for headquarters.

“This is one of the great places in the world to play Test cricket,” said Ponting.

“We’ve had a great time over here this tour and we are looking forward to playing Pakistan here in 10 months’ time. It will be enjoyable.

“It’s very significant for them (Pakistan). I’m sure they’d rather be playing here than not playing at all. That’s exactly the way we feel about it as well.

“Pakistan at the moment is obviously a fairly difficult place to tour for a number of reasons - and I think to be able to play Pakistan in neutral venues is something that’s going to be great for the game.”

He might have shifted loyalties to England but former Australia coach John Buchanan remains a fan of skipper Ricky Ponting.

And, he expects Ponting’s leadership to become more assertive in the Ashes beginning next week.

Buchanan, a consultant with the England Lions team, heaped praise on Ponting and said the diminutive right-hander would prove his captaincy skills in the series starting July 8.

“He is determined to turn the tables for (the defeat in England in) 2005,” Buchanan was quoted as saying by ‘The Times’.

“When he led Australia in the past two Ashes, he was surrounded by good lieutenants, but he is now ready to take the captaincy issue forward and move from a consultative style to one of more direct leadership.”

Describing himself as a fan of Ponting, Buchanan said he looks to be in firm control of the team.

“I’ve always been a great fan of Ricky. He is an outstanding team man and he brings that to his leadership style, but it is clear this is now his team,” he said.

Australian skipper Ricky Ponting will be batting for cancer-stricken children during the Ashes campaign against England.

Ponting is following in the footsteps of former team-mates Steve Waugh and Glenn McGrath.

This is part of “Run Ricky Run”, a new anti-cancer initiative by the Ponting Foundation in collaboration with Fox Sports. Cricket lovers can sponsor every run scored by the Australian captain in the five-Test series against England and the money would go to charities fighting childhood cancer.

“One purpose is to obviously raise much-needed funds for childhood cancer, but I think it has another effect,” Ponting was quoted as saying by ‘Herald Sun’.

“It will keep a lot of people interested in the cricket while we are away - it’s another way for kids in particular to stay in touch and in tune with what the team is doing and how many runs I am scoring,” he added.

The Good Samaritan

Ponting and his wife Rianna have been taking a lot of interest in the issue and the Australian captain said this is one of the many initiatives he has in his mind.

“The work Rianna and I have done for children’s cancer and trying to find a cure for childhood cancer has been pretty well known around Australia.

“This is one of the new initiatives that we have come up with,” Ponting added.

Ponting’s former captain Steve Waugh supports Udayan, a house for children of lepers in a Kolkata suburb, while McGrath has been championing breast cancer awareness for quite a while.

Retired Aussie stumper Adam Gilchrist too has donated generously for physically-challenged kids.

For every six he hit in the Indian Premier League II, a physically-challenged kid got a modified bike.

Ricky Ponting had an injury scare in practice as England’s Ashes opponents began their preparation for the ICC World Twenty20.

Ponting was hit on the wrist by a cricket ball, struck by Michael Hussey, and required attention by team doctors in Nottingham.

The 34-year-old batsman sat out the rest of the net session but should return to action on Monday, when he is set to play in the warm-up match against Bangladesh at Trent Bridge.

An Australia team spokesman said: “He copped a whack on the wrist and had it iced for the rest of training.

“He’s fine though and he’ll be back tomorrow. There was no need to have an x-ray.”

The Australian Cricketers Association has endorsed England’s decision to return to terror-struck India to play Tests.

The ACA claimed Ricky Ponting’s team would have done the same thing in these circumstances.

ACA Chief Executive Paul Marsh said England followed the advice of cricket’s most highly regarded security officer Reg Dickason, who earlier worked with Australia for over a decade.

“Without being privy to the specific advice I assume it would have been the same advice we would have been given in the same circumstances because we use the same security officer,” he said.

“We have always said that we rely on independent experts and we follow their advice,” he was quoted as saying by ‘The Australian’.

England had returned home after the last two games of a seven-match one-day series were called off, with the hosts leading 5-0 but returned to play the two-Test series as per the schedule.

Australia was widely criticised for not scrapping their tour of Pakistan early this year but Marsh said their decision was justified by the unending turmoil in that country.

“Sadly our decision on Pakistan was vindicated with the bombing of the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad,” Marsh said and added “it is a difficult time for cricket around the world.” Marsh is attending a Federation of International Cricketers Associations (FICA) executive meeting in Kuala Lumpur this week, where safety and security issues are expected to dominate debate.

Sir Richard Hadlee believes there is no doubt that Sachin Tendulkar is by far the best batsman of the modern generation.

In his capacity as the brand ambassador for the Delhi Half Marathon, the New Zealander said that though Tendulkar, Brian Lara and Ricky Ponting were all greats, the Indian maestro was better than anyone else. “Sachin is magic for the game of cricket,” said Hadlee, going on to add: “He is the one who can even be mentioned in the same league as Sir Don.”

Former India captains Anil Kumble and Sourav Ganguly had said on Thursday that Indian cricket was destined for great things under new captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Hadlee echoes similar sentiment.

The New Zealand cricket officials hate it, but the Kiwi all-rounder partly thanked the Indian Premier League for exposing several young players to the international arena. “Young players are coming through. Their depth and ability are there for all to see. With them, India could well be No. 1 very soon,” Hadlee said.
Hadlee said a win in the ongoing Test series against Australia could see India go a long way in bridging the gap with the world champions. Then, he cheekily added, “I hope your guys soften up the Aussies, so that our guys (New Zealand) can do something that hasn’t been done for 23 years - win a Test match in Australia.”

The legendary all-rounder said Twenty20, ODIs and Test cricket could definitely co-exist, but he also hates to think that the shorter versions could compromise Tests.

When asked about the exodus of New Zealand players to the Indian Cricket League, Hadlee agreed that the Kiwis were worse-hit than most other countries. “You can’t blame them for choosing financial security over their international careers. But it was sad to see people like Shane Bond, Craig McMillan and Daryl Tuffey, who had some cricket left in them, go away.”

The 57-year-old, who played international cricket till the age of 39, had one final thing to say, about whether age should be an issue for a cricketer. He said: “There’s no age limit, whatsoever. Players themselves know when they can or can’t mentally cope with the daily grind of international sport.”