RICKY Ponting walked into a media conference at Telstra Dome yesterday to find a life-size cardboard mask of himself smiling up from every seat.
Yes, smiling -- which seemed to match the mood.
In the flesh, the Australian captain looked relaxed and said he was refreshed, excited and keen to start playing cricket again, even though the disappointing memories of the failed Ashes defence had hardly had time to grow cold.
They haven't been forgotten but they have been filed under "experience" and the criticisms and the calls for his head have been noted and put into perspective. You suspect the barbs did sting a bit, but he prefers to point to the public response, which he says has been "tremendous".
In any case, he's still the captain, his team is still ranked No. 1 in the world, a new challenge is about to unfold and there's plenty to prove.
So, to pinch a slogan from the previous day's launch of the tennis Open, "Bring It On!"
"It," of course, is the Johnnie Walker Super Series against the Rest of the World.
Yesterday's media "opportunity" -- one of many about to unfold as this project is subjected to a promotional blitz of rare intensity -- was a reminder of why Ponting's job was never in danger.
He might still be prone to the occasional brain-snap -- being fined heavily for the super-sub outburst springs to mind -- and his strategic acumen is perhaps best described as a work in progress.
But put him in a dark suit and tie and ask him to sell the brand and he does it with confidence and credibility, and that's an important part of a generally impressive package.
Certainly, there was no escaping the contrast with the only other major story doing the rounds of the cricket world -- the bizarre and embarrassing bust-up between India's captain Sourav Ganguly and coach Greg Chappell.
Chappell has accused Ganguly of deceit, selfishness, intimidation and undermining morale.
Incredibly, all the Indian board has done about it is tell them to sort it out and learn to work together. What a farce.
Ganguly is not in either World XI and won't be coming to Australia, but the issue was on the agenda because the composite team's coach, New Zealander John Wright, preceded Chappell in India.
"It's a challenging job in a very passionate environment. Issues can arise sometimes from nowhere," Wright said.
He enjoyed his four years in the job and found the scene to be populated by tremendous people with great integrity.
For his part, Ponting was fully supportive of his own coach, John Buchanan, whose contribution had been under-estimated, he said.
Asked, though, who was in charge of any international cricket team, Ponting said he had always tried to work with the coach -- but, yes, when it came to how the team played the captain should always have the final say.
For Ponting, the new start will be in nostalgic surrounds -- as part of a Cricket Australia promotion of grassroots cricket. He will return to Launceston to play with his original club, Mowbray, on Saturday.
"I'm looking forward to that as I haven't played a grade game for five or six years and it's always nice to go back and rub shoulders with the guys you grew up learning the game with," Ponting said.
He strongly defends his team's right to continue to be regarded as No. 1 because the ranking was earned over a long period, not one series.
But he admits they have learned a lot about themselves and now have "a bit of a point to prove".
"We realise we underperformed as individuals -- now we just want to show everybody how good a team we are and there's no other way of doing it than to put performances on the board," he said.
- RON REED