Ponting holds captaincy edge over Waugh: Chappell

MELBOURNE: Former Australian skipper Ian Chappell has rated Ricky Ponting above Steve Waugh as a leader, saying the current captain had no dearth of ideas to tackle the opposition in difficult situations, a quality lacking in his predecessor.
    
"Ponting holds the edge over Waugh, judged on those rare occasions in the past decade when the opposition has been able to dictate terms to Australia," Chappell said.
    
"Whereas Waugh ran out of attacking ideas quickly in those situations, Ponting works feverishly to dismiss opponents rather than waiting for them to make a mistake," he was quoted as saying by the 'Sydney Morning Herald'.
    
Chappell, who led Australia in 30 Tests between 1971 to 1975 and is regarded as one of the game's greatest ever captains, blamed the 2001 Kolkata defeat against India on Waugh's "fatal mistake."
    
"Despite having both Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath at his disposal, Waugh opted to play a waiting game as VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid piled on a 376-run partnership. It was a fatal mistake."
    
Chappell said in similar situations Ponting tries to provoke the opposition into making errors.
    
"Ponting has improved his captaincy after making some mistakes in the losing 2005 Ashes series, while Waugh's style
never changed much."
    
"Ponting ... has continued to grow and learn as a captain and while he only equalled Waugh's victory record, he has surpassed him as a captain."