Australia v South Africa: Ricky Ponting bows out for eight in final innings after poignant guard of honour "Over the last couple of weeks my level of performance hasn't been good enough," he admitted. My passion and love for the game hasn't changed but at the end of the day (the decision) was based on my results. Ponting won more Tests as captain - 48 - than any other Australian and has the astonishing success rate of almost 72 percent as the country's one-day leader, winning 164 of his 228 games. Ricky Ponting shakes hands with South African captain Graeme Smith as he comes out to bat for the last time (Getty Images) He had already called a halt on his captaincy of the Test and one-day team in March last year, but continued as a player. Despite skippering Australia in more than 300 Test and one-day matches, taking over from Waugh, his magnificent innings were blighted by three Ashes series losses as captain. Nicknamed Punter by Shane Warne for his penchant for a bet (punt) on the greyhounds, Ponting amassed 13,378 runs in 168 Tests at 51.85, and 13,704 runs in 375 one-day internationals. Ricky Ponting edges the ball to Jacques Kallis during day four of the test match between Australia and South Africa (Getty Images) As captain, he oversaw a painful transition in Australian cricket following several high-profile retirements, including Warne, Glenn McGrath, Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer. But even with such greats in the ranks, Ponting, as captain, lost the 2005 Ashes in England, and despite engineering a 5-0 revenge in the ensuing home series in 2006/07, he again lost in 2009 and 2010/11. That last failure was badly received in Australia - it was their first Ashes loss at home for 24 years and followed a series of defeats by Ponting-led teams. Ricky Ponting acknowledges the crowd after he was dimissed playing his last international match (Getty Images) Married with two children, he is known as a campaigner against cancer and established The Ponting Foundation with wife Rianna to raise money for young Australians afflicted by the disease. Cricket Australia chief James Sutherland described him as one of the best players to ever to pad up, and wants him to continue in the game in some capacity, although Ponting is yet to announce his future plans.