Ricky Ponting has been Australia's one-day captain since 2002 and Test captain since 2004. In that time he has built a record of success as cricketer and leader, unprecedented since the days of Bradman, and in doing so has become one of the most popular Australian sporting personalities of his generation. His Australian cricket team began their 2009-10 season with a resounding victory in the Champions Trophy in South Africa. Ricky then headed straight to India for a highly competitive one-day series, back home for Tests, ODIs and Twenty20 Internationals against the West Indies and Pakistan, then to New Zealand, and finally to the UK for matches against England and Pakistan. The Australian T20 also participated in the ICC World Twenty20 in the Caribbean. The Aussies had returned from their ill-fated 2009 Ashes campaign as a side still in transition. The one constant has been the captain, who became Australia's leading run-scorer in 2009 and is now establishing a series of records that may not be broken for many years. The glory days when Australia dominated the world stage may be gone for now, but most observers agree that Ricky's side is improving. No one is better placed than Ricky Ponting himself to reveal to his fans and critics alike just how this difficult yet fascinating journey is going.