From Wisden Asia Cricket's cover story assessing the frontrunning captains for World Cup 2003, a look at what our panel of experts had to say about Ricky Ponting Barry Richards
Ponting has the easiest job because Australia are favourites and are playing a serious brand of attacking cricket. Ponting himself is relishing the responsibility because he has had a chequered past in that department. Being in charge of the world's best bowling attack makes life easier for him. It will be interesting to see how he keeps his cool if things go wrong. There is no doubt that Australia are the team that South African crowds love to hate – over six weeks, that can really get to you. John Buchanan, a proven man-manager, must work closely with Ponting to ensure that the game plan is never lost.

Peter Roebuck
The Australian selectors chose Ponting, rather than any senior player, to lead the one-day side after Steve Waugh lost his place in the line-up, and Ponting has rewarded their faith. He is an intuitive and unselfish player, and a decisive and popular captain. He has the respect of the older players, and he has restored the energy in his team. Ponting is aggressive, often abrasive, and won't be intimidated by the pressures of favouritism. He has learnt a lot from his captains, but he belongs in the Ian Chappell tradition of uncompromising and hard-bitten leaders.

Michael Holding
Barry has said that Ponting has the easiest job. I don't think he does. There is a famous line that says uneasy is the head that wears the crown – and Australia are the champions. Ponting may be in charge of the best cricketers in the world, but he would know that one-day cricket is about how you play on the day, not how you play over the year. We saw what happened in the ICC Trophy in Sri Lanka. One bad day and Australia were out. Even though Ponting is an inexperienced captain, I think his team will fall in right behind him; such is the Australian camaraderie. As Barry has pointed out, it will be interesting to see how Ponting copes when things don't go well. Will he just rely on the skills of his players or will he dare to be innovative? Will he be able to distance himself from the situation and look at the complete picture? That will be his test.

Sanjay Manjrekar
Ponting is a long-term decision taken by Australia. Theirs is such a well-oiled machine that the captain has less of a task. You could make, say, Matthew Hayden captain tomorrow, and you won't see much of a change in the team performance. The players are not temperamental or emotional; they just get on with the job. So yes, Ponting does have a relatively easy job, but let us not assume that Australia will dominate the tournament. There will be some tough times, and he will not have much experience around him to lean back on – Steve and Mark Waugh are gone, and Shane Warne may not be able to play. The pressure of a World Cup is unique – I remember Australia panicking against India in Brisbane in 1992 because of no other reason than this World Cup pressure. But if Ponting can handle it, Australia can feel secure for a long time to come.

Martin Crowe
The greatest thing about this new leader in world cricket is that leadership has turned him into an incredible run-machine. Perfect timing. The Aussie selectors were spot-on with their timing too. Ponting will carry on the uncompromising, unrelenting, ruthless Australian way. What he has over the other four captains is a great apprenticeship, having played under two superb captains, both of whom were terrific batsmen too. It's a sweet marriage between Ponting and his mantle, so he will prevail. But he'll have to get past Shaun Pollock.

To find what our panel had to say about Shaun Pollock, Waqar Younis, Sourav Ganguly and Stephen Fleming, get a copy of Wisden Asia Cricket, January 2003

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