Melbourne: Investigations conducted by the 'Daily Telegraph' found that the skipper himself has had to cough up 23,200 dollars to the International Cricket Council after getting fined in five of the 16 Tests that he has played following Warne's retirement, one of the worst record in world cricket so far.

Ponting now is level with South Africa's Graeme Smith as the most penalised captain (15) since 2003.

The report claims Cricket Australia has become so fed up with the violations that it might push for on-field penalties.

Ponting denied a fiery Perth deck
Australia captain Ricky Ponting has been denied a green top at the Western Australia Cricket Association (WACA) Ground here for the first Test match against South Africa starting December 17.

The WACA pitch is one of the fastest in world and Australia's stranglehold here is unchallenged. But in the last Test here, India thrashed Australia and Ponting accepted he was "duped" by the curator.