“I erred my wrist by touring India” – Ponting

"Probably right at the time, with the break that I had after the West Indies and leading into the Indian series, and the Indian series being as big as it was, I was probably not forced, but I wanted to come back and resume playing as soon as I possibly could," Ponting said.

"It would have been nice to have another couple of months off, but I wasn’t afforded that luxury," said Ponting quoting to a news paper.

He is cleared to play the home series against South Africa but he said he is feeling pain while driving. "At the moment it’s an inflammatory injury. Hitting straight down the ground is probably where I have the most discomfort.

"I will keep working on it, I will keep icing it, I will keep doing the treatment I need to do over the next little period and hopefully by the end of the summer it’s not around any more," he said.

"We have have never referred to ourselves as being the best team in the world, the champion team, that is just something that is said about us all the time. It’s taken us a long time and a lot of great wins in different conditions around the world to give us that No. 1 spot.”

"So, if South Africa beat us 3-0, I don’t know if that gives them enough points to get over us or whatever. But if they simply won the series 1-0 or 2-1, I don’t think that would mean they deserve to take over that mantle," Ponting said.