Ricky Ponting today handed back the captaincy of the Australian Test and one-day cricket sides, bringing down the curtain on a highly successful yet turbulent decade in Australian cricket. In charge of ODIs since 2002 and Tests since 2004, 'Punter' relinquished his responsibilities after a disastrous summer, culminating in a quarter-final exit at this year's World Cup.

It is widely expected that Michael Clarke will be installed in Ponting's place but this decision requires the ratification of the board of Cricket Australia and will not be announced until Wednesday at the earliest.

During his resignation announcement, Ponting made clear that he remains available for selection as a batsman and is committed to supporting his successor.

There isn't a moment in sport that provokes such mixed emotions as that of a great champion cashing in his chips. All summer long Ponting has operated with the Sword of Damocles hanging dangerously close to his plugs but when the difficult decision was finally made, how does one appraise such an individual of myriad and conflicting absolutes?

Do we remember the two World Cups, the record-equalling 16-Test winning streak as captain, the utter refusal to accept defeat, even when bloodied and fighting a lone hand against the old enemy? Or should the focus be on the three lost Ashes series, the steady decline of a champion side under his tenure, the moderate tactician and the increasingly common dummy spits?

It is too early to establish Ponting's legacy but it is clear it will be the most contested since Kim Hughes ceded control to Allan Border in 1984.

What is beyond doubt is that Ricky Ponting gave his all whenever he represented his country and he earned the right to go out on his own terms.

One of the great difficulties in measuring Ponting's career as captain of Australia is separating the individual from the organisation of which he was the public face.

During the 1990s and early 2000s, the Australian cricketing set-up was the envy of the world. After emerging from the doldrums of the 1980s, there was strength in depth, a conveyor-belt of champion players and backroom stability. By the time Ponting was passed the baton, complacency was superseding hunger, the conveyor-belt had slowed to a near-standstill and competition for places was replaced by the uncomfortable support of the out-of-form and average.

It is arguable that whoever captained Australia's side of champions from 2004 to around 2007 couldn't have failed to achieve extraordinary results. Does Ponting therefore deserve credit for being the cream of such an extraordinary crop or should his influence after 2007 be given increased importance?

If that is the case, he is not flattered by the comparison.

Overall, Ponting's record as captain will go down in history as one of the most productive eras of all time. In 77 Tests as captain, he won 62 per cent of matches and in 228 ODIs he was the victorious skipper 76 per cent of the time. Across this span he averaged over 51 with the bat in Tests and over 43 in ODIs.

However, accounting for just the last four years, minus Warne and McGrath, those numbers nosedive. The win ratio for Tests drops to exactly 50%, for ODIs to 64% while Ponting's own form diminishes to a Test average of 41 and an ODI average of 42.

Crucially, it is this period in which Ponting's captaincy has been most visible and most important. His ability to get the best out of less at his disposal; to rally his weaker troops with individual feats; to coax through a new generation of champions.

Unfortunately, in this period he lost two out of three Ashes series, both home and away, and presided over Australia's most dismal World Cup for a generation. The away victory in South Africa looked to have heralded a new Ponting-led dawn but that proved to be false as the calibre of the group that played so ferociously for their skipper in the autumn of 2009 have since failed to back up their achievements.

Ponting's captaincy then can be looked at as a celebration of the early years or a rebuke of the later. The last of the golden generation or the first of one altogether more mediocre.

As I was reminded today, the challenges facing Australian cricket will not disappear with a new captain. If anything, until the impact of the various internal reviews are felt, the decline is likely to gain pace and Ponting's legacy will receive a dead cat bounce.

It is possible that this nostalgia will take place with Ponting still a fixture in the Australian batting order. Although with a Test average in excess of 40 in just one of the last four calendar years, talk of a batting revival without the pressure of captaincy could be wide of the mark.

Ironically, Ponting's greatest act of leadership could well have been his last. By choosing to acknowledge his tenure had nowhere left to go, he has opened the door for change with one less difficult decision to be made by CA officials.

The call as to whether Ponting remains in a baggy green will rest on the likes of Andrew Hilditch, an individual so seemingly convinced of his contribution he considered a home mauling by England, mired in selectoral confusion and player-mismanagement, to have been an example of his and his colleagues' good work.

For the sake of cricket in Australia, a new tier of strategists and decision makers must be installed and Ponting's lead followed to start afresh and rebuild the integrity of the national sport at the highest level.