Clarke celebrated his finest achievement on a cricket field ufffd a maiden triple century and the highest score by an Australian at the ground where he was raised.

He now averages above 54.9 since taking over the captaincy on a permanent basis; his career average. Before accepting the job, his average was 46.49.

Poll

Who will win the Punjab Elections?

BJP 32.86%

AAP 41.43%

INC 25.71%

Submit

View All In Poll

Ponting said: "His record would suggest that he has thrived as captain. It was probably fairly similar for me when I took over the job. I know my batting average went up a lot and Michael's has and will continue to if he keeps playing the way he has since he's been captain.

"You just know that there are people out there who will enjoy what comes with being captain. The stuff that happens on the field, the bowling changes, the field changes and all that sort of stuff, that's the easy part of captaining an international cricket team."

"That is sometimes the stuff that can bring you down a little bit. What I've seen with Michael, like I was, he's got the ability to separate his batting from the captaincy. He's said he wants to stand up and lead from the front in the field and he's done that terrifically well," The Age quoted Ponting, as saying.

Clearly, these are the things Ponting has not missed since standing down after the World Cup, although plenty of people have questioned the 37-year-old''s place in the team since then.