Ricky Ponting was barely an hour back in Australia before he started talking about his determination to make another Ashes tour of England, as captain or not. Ponting became only the second Australian captain to lose two Test series in England when his lineup lost the fifth Test at The Oval Sunday to surrender the Ashes. The 2-1 series loss plunged Australia from No. 1 to No. 4 in the Test rankings, coming on top of losses away in India and at home to South Africa, and prompted calls for Ponting's dismissal as captain. “Having a pretty bitter and sour taste in my mouth at the end of that Test match, I'd love to be able to go back and give it one more crack,” Ponting told reporters Wednesday at Sydney International Airport. “I've got to worry about that the next 12 or 18 months and see if all that hunger or commitment is still there. “Right at the moment it most definitely is. It's probably higher right now than ever before. Who knows, 2013 might be something achievable.” The 34-year-old Ponting left his deputy Michael Clarke in England in charge of the lineup for two Twenty20 matches and the start of the limited-over international series. He didn't rule out the notion of the split captaincy in Test and limited-over duties becoming permanent, saying England uses Andrew Strauss as Test skipper while Paul Collingwood leads the one-day team. “There's absolutely no reason why that couldn't happen,” Ponting said. “It has happened in the past with Australian teams. “Those are things that need to be thought long and hard about, but if it means that I'm going to be better off for test matches and bigger series when they come around ... “ Ponting was in charge when the hotly favored Australian team, containing bowling greats Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath, slumped to a 2-1 loss in the 2005 series in England, ending an almost two-decade domination of the Ashes. He recovered from that by winning the International Cricket Council's player of the year awards in 2006 and 2007 and leading the Australians on a 5-0 series sweep of the return Ashes series Down Under. Despite picking up some unenviable results as captain since the retirements of Warne, McGrath and a host of senior players, Ponting thinks he's got he best credentials to lead the team. “I've got a lot to offer the team, as a batsman and as a captain,” he said. “If it ends up getting to the point where I'm not the captain, my hunger and determination to keep playing this game are as good as ever. “If that's with a ‘c' next to my name, all well and good. If it's not, I still think I have a lot to offer, particularly a lot of younger guys who are around our set-up at the moment.” Cricket Australia and senior players have backed Ponting as captain in the face of criticism. Pontingsaid he was pleased with the public support he had received from his players, Cricket Australia and the selection panel after the Test series. Former Australia captain Ian Chappell has come out in support of current skipper Ponting despite the Ashes series loss. But former Test batsman Dean Jones believes leg-spin great Shane Warne could be tempted out of retirement to lead the team. Chappell, captain of the successful Australia side of the early to mid 1970s, said Ponting had paid dearly for being in charge when the likes of star players Warne, Glenn McGrath, Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer had all retired from Test cricket. Jones, speculating on possible successors to Ponting, said the 39-year-old Warne, whose colorful private life effectively denied him what chance he had of captaining Australia, could be tempted out of retirement “in a heartbeat” to lead the side before handing on to current vice captain Michael Clarke.
