Former Australian paceman Geoff Lawson says Ricky Ponting is being incredibly self-indulgent and should have already retired from Test cricket.
Ponting called a media conference on Tuesday at the SCG following his axing from Australia's one-day side. The 37-year-old told reporters he didn't expect to get picked in the one-day team again, but was determined to pursue his goal of winning selection for Australia's Ashes tour in 2013.
Ponting's five single-figure scores in this summer's tri-series against Sri Lanka and India led to the triple World Cup winner's departure from the one-day team.
But the former skipper's 544 runs at 108.80 in four Tests against India have left the 162-match veteran enthusiastic about carrying on at Test level, with a tour of the West Indies to come in April.
Lawson says if Ponting is true to his word about going out on top, then now's the time.
''I thought the press conference was one of the most self-indulgent little pieces of self interest I've seen for a long time,'' Lawson told Sky Sports Radio yesterday.
''I listened very intently to it and there was a lot of 'I' … 'I this' and 'I that' and 'how I'm good for the team' and I'm really annoyed by it. I just thought it was incredibly self-indulgent.
''Maybe Ricky needed it but I don't think the team needed it.
''He said he wanted to go out on top. Well, he just made a double hundred in the Test match [in Adelaide last month]. The only way he can go now is down.
''To retire after Adelaide would have been absolutely perfect.''
Former Pakistan coach Lawson urged Australia's selectors to start looking towards the future.
''If he doesn't make runs in the three Shield games, I'm not sure why he should be going to the West Indies,'' Lawson said.
''Let's move on and get a young player in there.''
Former Australian captain Allan Border, whose 156-Test career ended in South Africa in 1994 at the age of 38, backed Ponting's decision to play on.
''He's still playing very good cricket as we saw in the last Test series against India but his one-day form has been off his absolute best,'' Border said.
''There's a feeling that the media feels as though it's a better thing if the player concerned sticks his hand up and retires gracefully but I just don't think that's in Ricky. He'll cop it on the chin. If his time is up and the selectors make the call, he'll accept that.''
■ COURAGEOUS quick Peter Siddle is doing great work at Test level but chairman of selectors John Inverarity is happy to keep him out of the one-day side.
Inverarity said yesterday he wanted to preserve Siddle's lion-hearted efforts for the Test arena, including Australia's tour of the West Indies in April.
He said Siddle's bowling during the Indian Test series had been outstanding. ''We really look forward to letting him loose in the West Indies,'' Inverarity told ESPNcricinfo. ''He was lionhearted and wonderful and we look forward to him returning there.
''But just at the moment, he's not in our short-term ODI plans.'' AAP
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