The skipper Aussies learnt to love 

Source: ReutersAustralia captain Ricky Ponting

Little by little, the tide of public opinion is turning in Ricky Ponting's favour.

Maybe it was the grace he displayed after handing over the Ashes for the second time in England, his doting over daughter Emmy or a little sympathy for leading the Australian side through its inevitable decline.

Or all the above.

Whatever it is, there has been a definite softening in attitudes towards the Australian skipper heading into this summer.

It is a far cry from the polarising figure that had his very moral fibre called into question during the fall-out following Australia's tempestuous SCG Test against India two summers ago.

Ponting received the type of belting he has normally dished out to bowlers on the field.

His combative, sometimes abrasive, approach to the game, his scowl and aggressive victory celebrations in Sydney were all put under the microscope.

Noted cricket writer Peter Roebuck wrote he had turned his players "into a pack of wild dogs" and dragged "the game into the pits".

Indian captain Anil Kumble accused Australia of not playing in the spirit of the game - one of the gravest insults in cricket.

The ugly episode forced Ponting to re-evaluate his approach, having fully recognised the power of his position.

As Australia's fortunes dipped, he has also had to get used to post-match interviews with ex-players asking him where has it all gone wrong.

The rest of the cricket world has delighted in Australia's slide and Ponting is the last remaining symbol of the team's golden era.

Instead of his cheeky post-victory grin, he has learnt to front up and put on a brave front even when defeat was gnawing away at his insides.

"I think people have probably got to learn about me and understand me and I think that is the reason to tell you the truth (for any softening)," he told AAP this week for an interview promoting his Captain's Diary 2009.

"I certainly try to be honest as I can and answer questions the right way more often than not and I think I might have won a few people over at the end of the Ashes.

"I got booed on and off the ground at most places in England but once people got to listen to what I had to say, then they did start to soften a little bit.

"That is one of the great things and challenges we face as international sportsmen.

"You are sort of recognised and people sort of believe you are the type of person they see out there competing.

"Quite often you can be completely different from that.

"It is a hard thing to get across a lot of the time."

His demeanour at press conferences has almost always been much more laid-back than his on-field persona.

He is polite, makes light of situations and to his immense credit, never ducks a question.

But nor does he suffer fools either.

Ponting wasn't completely certain the Australian public had changed their opinions of him.

"I don't know if it has softened that much in Australia," he said.

"There are high expectations on the team and there is high expectations on me as captain as Australia and that is how it should always be.

"I have high expectations of myself and high expectations of myself as well.

"We want to win every game that we play and sometimes we come up a little bit short. But we are always out there trying to do our best."

That Ponting has developed into a statesman of world cricket is a fact.

He has become much more aware of his impact and learnt by his standards anyway, to steer a more diplomatic path than in the past.

His manager James Henderson said he and Ponting keep in touch every week to discuss what is going on in cricket and around the world.

"He has become much more aware of the external responsibilities," said Henderson.

"I think he has developed into that role over the past two years."

After making his international debut in 1995, the first 12 years of Ponting's career were largely filled with triumph after triumph. Through talent and an indomitable will, his lows were fleeting.

Losing never has and never will come easy for him.

But he now understands how he responds to failure defines him as much as the number of runs he scores.

His class after losing the Ashes at The Oval in August may end up winning him more fans than his pull shot or cover drive ever do.