Smile Ricky!

Ricky Ponting is happy. And I think that's good for Australia. We wouldn't like him when he's angry.

Why is he happy? Well, for once, he's finally got his own team to captain. It's only taken several years and the criticisms of hundreds of newspaper articles and ex-players before he's been allowed to do it.

Take a look at the team from the 2007/08 summer
Phil Jacques, Matt Hayden, Ricky Ponting (c), Mike Hussey, Michael Clarke, Andrew Symonds, Adam Gilchrist (wk), Brett Lee, Brad Hogg/Stuart MacGill, Mitchell Johnson, Stuart Clark.

And the current team:
Phil Hughes, Simon Katich, Ricky Ponting (c), Mike Hussey, Michael Clarke, Marcus North/(Bryce McGain), Brad Haddin (wk), Andrew McDonald, Mitchell Johnson, Peter Siddle, Ben Hilfenhaus

Of the current team, only Katich has played for Australia under any other captain. Everyone else has come into the team on Ponting's watch. Compare that to just over a year ago, when Hayden, Symonds, Gilchrist, Lee, Hogg, and MacGill had been around the team for years.

Punter has a young, hungry pace attack this time around. These guys have everything to prove and nothing to defend. They don't have an average to protect or sponsorship deals to ensure.

In 2005, only Shane Warne performed to his potential. The rest of the squad - Hayden, Langer, Gilchrist, Martyn, Lee - performed sporadically. They let their country and captain down, leaving him to cop the flak.

Now Ponting has his own team. And I'll bet he'll happily cop whatever flak he gets because he's finally got a chance to shape an Australian side. He's still the best batsman in our nation, and one of the best two in the world. And he's got a chance to take these guys to some real levels of success.