Ponting names Clarke as his successor

Addressing a press conference in Sydney on Tuesday, Ponting said that he would remain in the team only as a batsman. Ponting said that he made the decision last night after consulting the senior team players. He also nominated Michael Clarke to replace him as captain of the Australian cricket team. The 36-year old Ponting led the Australian team in more than 300 test and one day cricket matches. After losing the Ashes series 3-1 against England and crashing out of the quarterfinals of the World Cup 2011, he was under a lot of pressure to resign. Ponting became the most successful captain in 134 years of test cricket as he captained Australia in 77 test matches for 48 wins, which is the most number of wins for any test skipper. He only lost 16 tests while he managed to draw 13 matches.Ponting captained Australia in 227 one-day matches while recording 163 wins, 50 losses along with two World Cup victories in 2003 and 2007.