Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting has gone in to bat for Steve Smith after the incumbent skipper came in for criticism over field placements to start the final day of the first Test against Pakistan at the Gabba.
With the tourists still needing a sizeable 108 runs for an unlikely record-breaking victory with just two wickets in hand at the start of play on Monday, Australia began with a surprisingly defensive field.
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Smith lauds Pakistan, Starc
Aussie skipper Steve Smith had nothing but praise for the resilient Pakistan side, but also heaped praise on Mitchell Starc after he found the match-defining breakthrough.
Asad Shafiq (137) and Yasir Shah (33) took advantage, adding 67 runs to take Pakistan to 8-449 and within 41 runs of a famous win before both were dismissed in the space of five balls as Australia avoided a catastrophic result by the skin of their teeth.
But Ponting insisted that the field set-up would have come about as a result of collaboration with coach Darren Lehmann, and wouldn't have been Smith's decision alone.
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"I'm pretty sure it would've been an open discussion between captain and coach and, the way they started yesterday's play, I don't think it would have been one of their ideas, it would've been a combination of both of their thoughts put together," Ponting told SEN radio on Tuesday morning.
"That was the way I always used to work with the coaches I played under. Generally you tend to sit down and have a good chat.
"I used to like to include some of the senior players as well, especially once the game started, and get their opinions on the way the game was heading or where the game was going because I knew that what I always thought wasn't going to be right all the time. So I liked to get other people's ideas and advice."
Ponting thought Smith was harshly treated by his critics and lauded the way the 27-year-old has begun stamping his authority on his team.
"We are always quick to be critical on people, at the end of the day they won by nearly 40 runs which is a significant margin, really, in a Test match," Ponting said.
"It got a lot closer than Steve Smith would have hoped but at the end of the day it's a Test victory and all of those players will learn.
"The thing I love about him (Smith) is that he leads from the front. Whenever there's a tough situation with the bat, he's always the first one to put his hand up and get the job done – that'll make the players gravitate more towards the way he is as a captain and a leader as well."
Meanwhile, Ponting had been mooted as a potential interim head coach of the national Twenty20 side for three matches against Sri Lanka in February, but the country's most prolific Test run scorer didn't believe he deserved the role.
"It just seemed to me that it would be better suited to someone that was already in the Australian coaching system like Justin Langer or Jason Gillespie rather than just having me come in from nowhere and take over for a couple of games and then go back out of the system completely once again," Ponting said."We'll wait and see where that all goes. You never say never, I love coaching, I love working with younger people, especially younger batsmen.
"Where I get a lot of the great thrill from is trying to have an impact on the way that they think about cricket."
Langer was announced as Australia's interim T20 coach last week.