Rickey Ponting has the greatest record of any regular Test captain but his most demanding assignment will be retaining the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with such an inexperienced side. The Australian team left for a four-Test tour of India on Sunday with just four in the 14-man squad having played Test cricket there.
n 44 Tests as skipper, Ponting has lost only four Tests, but significantly two of them have been against India and one of those was the only match he played there on the previous Test tour four years ago.
Missing the first three matches on the 2004 tour through injury, when Adam Gilchrist led Australia to its first Test series victory in India for 35 years, Ponting returned for the last Test only to lose narrowly on a dreadful pitch.
The other loss against India came during the third Test last summer in Perth before Australia drew the final Test in Adelaide to seal a difficult 2-1 series victory.
Because Australia already holds the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Ponting needs only to draw this series to retain the most hard-fought piece of silverware in Cricket Australia's cluttered cabinet.
But even that will be tough given that Australia has won just four Tests in India from six series since Bill Lawry's team triumphed there 3-1 in 1969.
Ponting said the tour would be "a great challenge for all of us".
"We've got a bit of inexperience around the side and India are obviously a very experienced team," he said.
"I was just looking through their team the other week and it's hardly changed in the last seven or eight years, whether it be batsmen or bowlers.
"They'll play their conditions well, but the flip side of that is whenever we've toured the sub-continent in the last 10 years, we've upheld our standards and against India in India of late we've done very, very well."
Ponting has an exceptional record in one-day cricket, twice leading Australia to World Cup glory undefeated, and as a Test captain has a winning percentage of 75, better than any other skipper who has led his side in more than 10 Tests.
Steve Waugh is next with a winning percentage of 72 from 57 Tests in charge and Don Bradman third with a 62.5 per cent success rate in 24 Tests as captain.
For Ponting to maintain that record, it will take something between an exceptional performance and a miracle given that none of his bowlers have played a Test in India and his spinners, Bryce McGain, 36 and Jason Krejza, 25, have not played Test cricket at all.
"Even some of our more senior players like Brett Lee haven't played a Test there so we are reasonably inexperienced in Test-match conditions in India but all the guys have played their fair share of one-day cricket there," Ponting said.
"What has been great about the last 12 months is how competitive we've been in Tests since this big change of players.
"We've got great depth and it's exciting to see these other guys getting an opportunity."
Australia's 2004 success was built around an attack of Glenn McGrath, Jason Gillespie, Michael Kasprowicz and Shane Warne. Injury prevented Warne playing in the last Test of the series, which Australia lost on a spinning pitch.
Of the four who have previously played Tests in India, Ponting, Michael Clarke, Matthew Hayden and Simon Katich, Katich may not even get a game depending on injuries and team balance.
It would continue a very unlucky career for Katich, who scored centuries in his previous two Tests opening the batting during the West Indian tour when Hayden was injured.
Should a fit Hayden return to the top of the order with Phil Jaques and Shane Watson slot into the all-rounder's position at number six in place of the absent Andrew Symonds, as expected, there would be no obvious opening for Katich in a middle order that includes Clarke and Mike Hussey.
Ponting said he absence of Symonds would be a big disadvantage.
"It's no good worrying about it, but you miss his skills and personality around the team," he said.
"He's a terrific bloke to have around and he will be when he comes back, if he wants to comes back."
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