NEW DELHI: A coach is as good as the team. It has been said countless times in the past and Ricky Ponting reaffirmed that belief on Friday when speaking at a promotional function here.

"If the National side had not been playing as well as it had been over the past few years, I don't think Australian coaches would have been much sought after,'' Ponting observed.

"A coach is as good as the team," Ponting emphasized. The examples of Greg Chappell and Bob Woolmer being the most recent to support the Australian captain's views as both the highly-rated coaches saw their teams failing to proceed beyond the first stage of the last World Cup.

Ponting believes the coach need not be a superstar to command the respect of the players. He talked of John Buchanan, the former Australian coach. "He helped me as a player and as a captain and he never played Test cricket. A coach need not be a superstar. What a team needs is a man manager. Buchanan was good at it." Ponting also highlighted Australia's well-planned policy to tackle the challenges arising out of transition of a team. The Australian skipper observed that the selectors in his country overcame the problem of transition in a professional manner.

"Whenever there was a group (of players) of the same age on the verge of retirement, the selectors brought in youngsters regularly.''

On the same issue, Ponting noted India could face a bigger challenge when seniors like Sachin Tendulkar, Anil Kumble and Rahul Dravid stop playing around the same time. "I think it would leave a big hole,'' said Ponting.

When asked to describe captaincy, Ponting said, "It depends on how well the captain knows his players, how much time he spends with them and such things. When I walk out to bat, I don't think like a captain. It is important for me to separate captaincy and batsmanship.''

Ponting did not appreciate the term sledging that the Australians are often accused of indulging in. "I would probably use the word gamesmanship.''

© Copyright 2000 - 2009 The Hindu