The Ashes: Ex-England skippers slam Ponting

England's former Test captains didn't miss the opportunity to slam Ricky Ponting for his lengthy tirade at umpire Aleem Dar during the fourth Ashes Test.

Andrew Flintoff, who led England when they were blanked 5-0 on the last Ashes tour to Australia, couldn't resist a swipe at the Australian skipper for his second day outburst at the MCG which earned him a fine of A$5400 for breaching the ICC code of conduct.

"Don't think Santa brought Ponting the Barbie he asked for. Apparently he got the horse riding one instead of the princess and he's still sulking," joked Flintoff via Twitter.

Writing in the Daily Mail, Nasser Hussain was scathing of Ponting - who was fined 40 per cent of his match fee for the ugly clash - dismissing the enormous pressure he's been under because of his poor form and that of his team as a factor.

"Ponting's outburst at both umpires when Kevin Pietersen was given not out by technology was not a reflection of the fact that the Australian captain is under a huge amount of pressure - he has always been like that," fired Hussain.

Hussain, who was tormented for years by Australia's bowling spearheads Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne, added that Australian cricketers generally don't respect umpires like young players in England.

"There are cultural differences too... I remember when Mark Waugh came to Essex, he launched a stream of invective at an umpire who called him for a no-ball after turning down an lbw decision and we were all taken aback."

Mike Gatting, who was memorably involved in a finger-pointing row with umpire Shakoor Rana in Pakistan in 1987, wasn't defending Ponting, although he clearly admired his passion.

"You can question the umpire once but Ricky has gone and questioned the umpire again.

"He's really frustrated, I'm sure, and he's a passionate guy, but we can't have that, especially when the umpire review system has been brought into place," said Gatting, the last England captain to win an Ashes series in Australia, 26 years ago.

- AAP