Ricky Ponting says his decision to step down as Australian captain has ensured Michael Clarke will be ready to lead the side in big series like the one against India beginning on Boxing Day.
Ponting says the call, made after this year's World Cup, has allowed successor Clarke seven Tests as skipper before the massive four-Test home series.
"I don't have any regrets about standing down," Ponting told reporters in Hobart as Australia prepared for the second Test against New Zealand beginning on Friday.
"I did it because I thought it was the right time and I did it to try and make myself back into the player that I wanted to be.
"It gave the incoming captain a lot of time to get experience and knowledge under his belt for the next really big series that we play.
"Michael's probably got seven Tests under his belt before a big series so that's good experience for him.
"He'll be a very experienced captain by the time the big tournaments come around."
The 36-year-old ex-skipper still cuts an unusual figure in the young Australian side, but Ponting insists he is relaxed and comfortable.
"It's actually a bit of a load off my plate just to be an everyday player again," he said.
His decision to quit, after World Cup disappointment and an Ashes series defeat, was among the first in a major shake-up of Australian cricket.
The Argus review into the team's performances culminated in a new selection set-up headed by John Inverarity and the country's first non-Australian head coach, South African Mickey Arthur.
Ponting, who has played 157 Tests, says the process is working.
"The whole set-up, I think, right at the moment just has a lot more professional feel about it around the team," Ponting said.
"We're making sure that nothing's slipping through the cracks whatsoever."
The Tasmanian is ready to move back to No.3 in the Australian batting order for his home Test if out-of-sorts opener Phil Hughes is dropped and Usman Khawaja moved up a spot.
"I'll bat wherever the captain wants me to bat," Ponting said.
"If that's the best balance for the team then, absolutely, I'll go back into that position."
If South Australian call-up Dan Christian plays, he is likely to bat at six or seven, with Hughes the likely omission.
Ponting backed Hughes to bounce back after he was dismissed for 10 and seven in the first Test at the Gabba.
"I think long-term he's someone who's going to play a lot of cricket for Australia," Ponting said.
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