Australia captain Ricky Ponting has dismissed speculation he plans to retire from international cricket after the World Cup.
Hussey says squad are "100 percent" behind their skipper
Australia captain Ricky Ponting has dismissed speculation that he plans to retire after the World Cup.
Reports on Wednesday suggested that Ponting could be set to quit the international scene and wind down his career in county cricket.
However, the 36-year-old has rubbished the story ahead of his side's quarter-final clash against co-hosts India on Thursday, insisting he wants to play on at the top level for as long as possible.
"I don't see the finish line, I want to keep playing both forms of the game as long as I think I can contribute," Ponting said.
"Nothing's changed for me in the past 12 months. I've said all along, every time I've been asked about retirement, is that I'm enjoying my cricket as much as ever.
"I've never, ever thought about retirement or where the finish line might be.
"I've been trying to prepare myself as best I can as a player and lead the side as well as possible.
"For some reason, these retirement things keep popping up all the time."
County considerations
Ponting admitted he had looked into the possibility of playing for a county in England, but claimed that would not now be happening this summer.
"I actually looked at trying to play some county cricket before the Sri Lanka tour (in August) this year for the fact that I will be coming off three months of no cricket and I thought we were going straight into Test matches," Ponting said.
"That's why my management had a look around a few of the counties, to see if they were interested.
"As it worked out our programs just didn't line up...I certainly won't be going there (England) to play this year."
Mike Hussey says the Australia squad are "100 percent" behind Ponting, who is looking to steer his country to a fourth straight World Cup triumph.
"Ricky's got our 100 percent support," Hussey said.
"He's such a class player. It's amazing, he seems to be coping criticism over minor things, things that have been blown way out of proportion from our point of view.
"I've been watching Ricky preparing in the nets and he's playing very well. It's just amazing how sometimes champions rise to the occasion at the right time.
"Certainly on Thursday, against India in the quarter-final of a World Cup, is one of those times where we will see the best of Ricky Ponting."
