Off field furores have worn down Ponting: Gilchrist

PERTH: The pulls and pressures of captaincy have begun to take a toll on Australian skipper Ricky Ponting and his form slump was a result of having to deal with too many off-field furores in recent months, feels his deputy Adam Gilchrist.

Ponting's lean spell with the bat is just one of the miseries that he has had to endure in a stressful summer, that has seen as much drama off field as on field.

A niggling back problem has not helped his cause and Gilchrist felt Ponting needed all the support he can get in his hour of crisis.

"I am sure he, like all of us, will have been worn down by a lot of the focus and a lot of the issues that have been around," Gilchrist said.

"We seem to have jumped from one thing to another, whether they be highly controversial or just issues that need to be dealt with. Things like the Pakistan tour hanging around, the Indian Test series and all the issues there in the (Harbhajan) hearing," he added, summing up his captain's woes.

Gilchrist praised Ponting for soaking up all the criticism that was directed at the world champions in the aftermath of the Sydney furore.

"He has had to take the brunt of it and I think we have got to acknowledge that he does that and stands up and wants to do it, that is his job," he said.

The stumper-batsman, who retires after the ongoing tri-series, however, allayed fears that Ponting would wilt under the pressure

"He is still running the team beautifully, captaining. We have got to rally around him and keep him going but he is a class act and he will be fine," he said.