Ricky Ponting named man of the match and man of the series. He had scored 515 runs at 103.00. In 2005 Ponting began using cricket bats with a graphite covering over the wooden blade of the bat, as did other players contracted to Kookaburra Sport. This was ruled by the MCC to have contravened Law 6.1, which states that bats have to be made of wood, although they may be "covered with material for protection, strengthening or repair not likely to cause unacceptable damage to the ball". Ponting and Kookaburra agreed to comply, before the series against South Africa. Australia continued their
Ricky Ponting with the Australian cricket team in India in 2008–09 wicket partnership, helping Australia reach a meagre 268. In the home-side's second innings, Ponting was criticised for using part-timers against the free-scoring Indian batsmen after he was informed that he was five overs behind the required over rate, which is penalisable by a fine, or in severe instances, a ban to the captain. This meant that he was not able to use pace spearhead Brett Lee significantly. A long discussion between Lee and Ponting prompted media allegations of a team rift, something Ponting denied. "It seems like there are people trying to make a bit more of that than what