Cricket360.com brought you the breaking news yesterday about Australian captain Ricky Ponting being ‘rested’ from the remaining matches of the current Australia - New Zealand series.  We also raised the question if Ponting was in fact being made to sit out the matches and if Michael Clarke was being tried out as another option and a possible replacement for Ponting.

Steve Waugh, former Australian captain has also aired his misgivings about the ‘resting’ and has questioned Ponting’s commitment to his country for agreeing to be rested. "(With) the players choosing to play the IPL and choosing all these other opportunities, there's got to be question marks thrown up when people say they want to rest,'' Waugh said.

As captain, Waugh did not take the kind of breaks that Ponting is currently taking and Waugh doubts if this will help Ponting come back fresher and stronger for the coming series. "They're committing to play more cricket. Really, Ricky is the only one who can answer that - is he mentally and physically fatigued, is he better off having a couple of games (out), will he come back fresher and stronger for the team?" he queried.

Waugh is especially critical of such breaks if they are at the expense of the National side and made by a player who was also part of the IPL. Ponting, however, who has an IPL contract with Kolkata Knight Riders, stressed his priority was to the national side.

For his part, Ponting was reported in the cricket news as saying that "I wanted to play on through the coming week and continue to lead the team in the series against New Zealand." He added that, "However the decision was made by the National Selection Panel as part of their plan to rest all players at appropriate times during this year. I have reluctantly accepted their decision and will be eagerly awaiting my return to the team," he added.

So whatever the reason behind Ponting being rested, the fact is that he has been leading his players and playing international cricket nonstop since October 2008 and is bound to be feeling some stress and fatigue. It remains to be seen if his rest is able to benefit him and the Aussie side who are going thru their worst patch in years right now.  Cricket360 will be keeping a close watch.

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