Ponting resists Somerset overtures

Ricky Ponting has effectively resisted overtures from Somerset this year, declaring that county cricket is not on his radar at the moment.

Although he has not officially retired from ODIs, Ponting is now effectively a Test-only player for Australia and after the series in the West Indies in April he will have no cricket on his schedule until the home summer starts in October.

That means a five-month break for a man used to life on the road with the national team and Somerset, who privately make no secret of their admiration for his talents, harbour ambitions to tempt him into county cricket before he retires. But Ponting, who has two young children, has said that rest will be a preferable option over the Australian winter.

"It [county cricket] doesn't really fit into what I'm looking at doing," Ponting said in Melbourne. "I'm looking forward to having a bit more time pre-season with the Tasmanian Tigers this year back in Hobart and spending a bit of time with the family so county cricket is probably out of the question."

Ponting finished the 2011-12 season captaining Tasmania while the regular leader George Bailey was on international duty in the West Indies and although he failed to reach double-figures in the Sheffield Shield final, his state form was generally very good. Despite not being part of Australia's ODI side any more, it has still been a hectic few months for Ponting,

"I've got to look at what my best preparation is, post the West Indies, and that will probably be to have a couple of months off. It's been a hard 12 months for me personally and around my cricket.

"With things not going as smoothly as I wanted at the start of the year, I had to train harder and work harder on my game and think more about my game than ever before. It's taken its toll a little bit, so I need to have a chance to refresh and recharge my batteries and get a solid pre-season under my belt before the Australian summer."