Shane Warne U-turn on Ponting attack

Shane Warne finds it 'staggering' that an observation by him was portrayed as an attack on Ricky Ponting.

Spin legend Shane Warne finds it 8220;staggering8221; that an observation by him was portrayed as an attack on Ricky Ponting whom he still considers the best man to lead the Australian cricket team.

8220;I find it staggering,but not surprising,how much factually incorrect rubbish I8217;ve read since I was quietly sitting on my couch last week talking out loud to the TV and answering my followers on twitter. I don8217;t know why so many people feel the need to exaggerate and sensationalise one sentence. Please,just report the facts,8221; Warne wrote on his website.

Warne had criticised Ponting8217;s field placings during the Bangalore Test loss to India,inviting a sharp reply from the Australian skipper which led to speculation that the two had fallen out.

For Warne though,there was no such thing as a slanging match as reported by the media.

8220;My tweet about Ricky8217;s fields for Nathan Hauritz for 2 overs has been portrayed as a rift between myself and the Australian captain and Journo8217;s have tried to start a slanging match between us; what rubbish,8221; he said.

8220;Commentators on the match,cricket journalists and even the Indian captain,MS Dhoni,have agreed with my tweet. It was an observation,not an attack.

Never at any stage did I say or imply that Ricky8217;s time as captain is up,8221; he added.

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The leg spin legend said he still considers Ponting to be the best man for Australian captaincy.

8220;Every captain and spinner has struggled at times to set fields against the Indian batsmen in India. We8217;ve all been smashed and struggled with getting the right fields.

8220;Sometimes as a player,when things are going badly,we can all be a bit sensitive to comments that ex-players or commentators make,I know I have been over the years as well. Yes 8211; Ricky was disappointed with my tweet and expressed his disappointment via SMS to which I replied 8220;should I take you off the Christmas card list?8221; My philosophy is 8211; never lose your sense of humour in whatever you do,8221; he revealed.

8220;Ricky,to me,is the right man to lead Australia for the Ashes. it8217;s a great opportunity for him to show his leadership and captaincy skills. He also looks in super touch with the bat; I am sure he8217;s going to fill his boots this summer.8221;

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Warne suspects that Ponting8217;s critics are using his comments to have a go at the embattled captain.

8220;I get a sense that people are after Ricky,they are trying to use my tweet as a camouflage to their own views and hang him; thats not on,8221; he said.