Defiant Ponting Vows to Fight on

Ricky Ponting is determined to win back the Ashes for Australia and fast bowler Glenn McGrath has given his full support to the under-fire captain.

The Australian skipper is defiant despite calls for him to lose the captaincy in the wake of his side's 2-1 defeat in England. Ponting faced the media upon his return to Sydney today and vowed to give his all to reclaim the urn.

He also rejected claims Shane Warne had taken over on the field as a 'pseudo-captain' during the final Test at The Oval on Monday.

"There's a burning desire to make sure we get those Ashes back as soon as we can," said Ponting. When asked if Warne had effectively become captain Ponting replied with a curt "no".

"I like to talk to a lot of the guys out on the field. Shane has got as able a cricket brain as anybody around."

Ponting revealed the ruthless streak normally associated with Australian sides was missing during the Ashes series. "I think the edge was missing," he added. "That's where we didn't stand up. Because it meant so much to us and we tried so hard that got in the way a little bit. In the crucial moments in the games we didn't stand up and that is unusual for this team."

With just 14 months to go until the next Ashes series on Australian soil, Ponting looked forward to trying to wrest the urn back from England.

"If they have still got those guys they will still be good bowlers," he said of the England attack. "They used and exploited the conditions a lot better than we did so hopefully we can do the same when they come here."

McGrath, who had predicted a 5-0 whitewash for Australia but missed two Tests through injury, gave his backing to Ponting. "Ricky's still got my full support," he said.