Cricket: Ponting back in Australia for treatment

SYDNEY - Injured Australia captain Ricky Ponting arrived back in Sydney this morning to undergo treatment on the broken left thumb that has ruled him out of the start of the cricket tour to India.

Ponting suffered the injury while fielding in Australia's six-wicket loss to England in the Champions Trophy semifinal at Edgbaston in Birmingham on Tuesday.

The No 3 batsman is set to miss at least the first test, which starts on October 6, and said he had no guarantee of being right to play the second test which follows only four days after the first test.

"It couldn't have come at a much worse time. It capped off a pretty ordinary day for us all round the other day," Ponting said.

"We've been looking forward to the Indian tour for a long time, and for me personally, being captain of the side also not having made many runs on the last tour, I was pretty keen to get there and play well."

Ponting said he would be visiting a hand specialist in Sydney this afternoon to learn more about the extent of the injury.

"It looks like I'm not going to be there for the first test, hopefully I can make it there for the second test and won't miss too much of the action."

- AAP