Ponting bats in strong Boxing Day warm-up

Ricky Ponting's prospects of leading Australia in the Boxing Day Test appear strong after he batted in the nets at the MCG without any clear signs of discomfort in his injured left elbow. Australia will wait to see how Ponting pulls up on Christmas Day before confirming him in the starting line-up but the indications were positive two days out from the first Test against Pakistan.

Ponting batted for about half an hour in the nets over three separate stints, starting with throwdowns before he went behind closed doors with the physio Alex Kountouris. He returned and spent 15 minutes facing Shane Watson and a group of young fast bowlers, and was strong in his grip and extended his arm without any obvious problems.

Apart from strapping on his elbow and the fact that he wore an arm-guard, there were few signs of his injury. Michael Clarke, who would step in as captain if Ponting was unavailable, was happy with how his leader performed.

"We'll obviously have to see how he pulls up tomorrow but we're all pretty confident," Clarke said. "It looked like he hit the ball quite well and he's obviously in very good form. Fingers crossed he pulls up tomorrow but we're pretty confident. He's a very tough bloke and cricketer and I think you'd probably have to cut his arm off for him to miss a Boxing Day Test match."

It was the first time Ponting had batted since the second innings against West Indies in Perth, when he came in at No. 9 and survived for only six deliveries, batting in obvious discomfort. The problem arose when he was struck on the elbow by a bouncer from Kemar Roach in the first innings at the WACA, which left him with tendon damage.

He has had several sessions in a hyperbaric chamber in an effort to speed up the recovery process for a problem that Kountouris last week said left his elbow like meat bashed with a mallet. Ponting has not missed a Test since 2004.