Early life of Ricky Ponting limited overs matches against a touring Indian team. Queenslander Stuart Law captained the Australian side that included former Australian keeper Rod Marsh. In Australia's victory in the first match in Canberra, Ponting top-scored with 71, before making 52 in a victory in Sydney. The last match was also successful for the home team, with Ponting not required to bat. Ponting started his 1994–95 campaign with a century against eventual Shield champions Queensland in Brisbane, in a performance that impressed Queensland captain Allan Border, who had just retired from international cricket after leading the national team for a decade. Border said
Ricky Ponting and 12 and Australia lost a low-scoring match in less than two days' equivalent playing time. Ponting was very vocal in criticising the playing surface after the match. Ponting oversaw a successful campaign in the 2004–05 Australian season. They won all five Tests, defeating New Zealand 2–0 and Pakistan 3–0. Ponting scored 145 runs at 72.50 against New Zealand in a winning start to his Test captaincy on home soil. Up to this point, Ponting's prolific form with the bat in 2003 had tapered away following his ascension to the captaincy and he had not made a century in eight