Nasser Hussain says Ricky Ponting should ruthlessly rack up runs now he is no longer Australia's skipper.
Hungry 'Punter' can afford to be selfish, says Nass
Ricky Ponting should selfishly rack up as many runs as he can now he has resigned the Australian Test and one-day captaincy, according to Nasser Hussain.
The 36-year-old has stood down after skippering his country in more than 300 internationals following Australia's quarter-final World Cup exit to co-hosts India.
Defeat in Ahmedabad came despite a century from Ponting, who has now scored 13,288 runs in 359 one-day internationals and 12,363 runs in 152 Tests at 53.52.
Former England captain Hussain believes the Tasmanian should now focus on swelling those tallies.
"It's the end of an era for Australian cricket and they've got to move forward under a new captain," he told
Sky Sports News HD.
"All respect to Ricky Ponting; I think he led his country with a lot of dignity, and a lot of pride, and a lot of passion and a lot of success as well. Everyone remembers the Ashes losses but there have been a few World Cup wins in there and a few Test match wins too.
"He's still a very fine player and I'm pleased that he is carrying on because Australia need him as a batsman. In the old era when they had so many good players coming through they'd say to an ex-captain 'thank you, we'll move on'.
"But I don't think Australia are good enough to do that. Ponting has just got to get his head down and not worry himself about the captaincy or tactics; just get runs for Australia, like Sachin Tendulkar does for India now. Just be hungry, be ruthless - be a bit selfish."
Galvanise
Ponting won 48 of his 77 Tests as skipper - but lost the Ashes in 2005, 2009 and 2010/11 and
Sky Sports pundit Nick Knight believes he has made the right decision to quite the captaincy now, even though he remains good enough to stay in the team.
"I've always felt Michael Clarke is a slightly better captain, tactically, than Ricky Ponting," Knight told
Sky Sports News HD. "What remains to be seen is whether he will galvanise the group and get the support of the team back in Australia.
"Reality has to say that his team aren't what they were when he first started and that had an impact. That's difficult for him because he's not captaining Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath any more - the greats who can get him over the line consistently.
"That will have worn him down a little bit, but what a great career, what a great guy too."
With the responsibility of leading the side lifted, Knight believes Ponting can achieve greater heights as a batsman and help to usher in a new age of Australian cricket.
"Normally the captain has his time and it's almost seen as a distraction if he is still in the team.
"I don't think that's the case anymore because Australian cricket is in a transition; I think Ricky will have a huge role to play in being the mentor, if you like, of many of the younger players still coming through.
"If he has got the energy and the desire and the want to carry on playing both forms then, yes please, I want to see more Ricky Ponting."
