Ponting could drop down order in future

Ricky Ponting has conceded he could move down the order to finish off his outstanding career - but only if there is someone better at No.3. Ponting's form during the Australian summer has been poor and he has only one game left against Pakistan, starting in Hobart on Thursday, to improve his record of 216 runs at 27.

An elbow injury has hampered Ponting since he was hit by Kemar Roach in Perth, but there has been talk of the captain shifting from his preferred spot to allow a new face to tackle the newer ball. "If I don't think I'm the right person to bat there then I won't bat there," Ponting told the Australian. "If I think there's someone else better equipped than me to bat at No.3, then that time may come [to move down the order]."

Despite his small returns, Ponting is confident of a return to form that will end the talk over his position. "It was only a few games ago that I felt right at the top of my game. I felt really good at the start of the season," he said. "I know that one-day cricket is a different form but I thought during that one-day series in India was as well as I'd ever played. That's not that long ago."

The place of Shane Watson at the top of the order is not under threat and Andrew Hilditch, the chairman of selectors, believes it could be his in the long term. Watson was thought to be better suited in the middle, but has starred since replacing Phillip Hughes in England, scoring 819 runs at 63 in eight Tests.

"All I can say is that we thought it was the right position for Shane, and he's really nailed it," Hilditch said in the Herald Sun. "It's nice to know he can bat anywhere in the order, but he may well open for the rest of the career. I'm sure he's thrilled to be doing well as an opener and I think he could continue in that position."