Ponting has no regrets over quitting captaincy

Ricky Ponting said on Wednesday he has no regrets about quitting the Australian captaincy and welcomes having fewer responsibilities ahead of this week’s second Test against New Zealand. Ponting led Australia in 77 Tests before he stood down as Test and one-day skipper after the World Cup earlier this year, making way for deputy Michael Clarke to take charge.It is rare for former Australian captains to continue playing on under a new leader and Ponting was asked at a press conference whether he had adjusted to his new role. “It’s a lot of fun actually not being the captain,” Ponting laughed. “Am I adjusting? Just the same way I was before when I was captain. I just want to be the best member of the team that I can possibly be. “Actually, it’s a lot more relaxing for me just to be an everyday player,” he said.“Just to turn up and get my batting and fielding work done and go and sit in the changerooms and not have to think about the wicket conditions or picking teams and anything like that.” He said he had no regrets about giving up the captaincy. “When I made the decision to stand down there was obviously going to be a lot of thought into making that decision because I was standing down from one of the best jobs in the world,” he said. “I don’t have any regrets about standing down. I did it because I felt it was the right time and I did it to try and make myself the player that I wanted to be.”