Melbourne, Jan 27 (PTI) It was his team-mate and spin wizard Shane Warne who gave Ricky Ponting the nickname "punter" for putting bets on dog races, the former Australia captain said on Monday.

"We were getting paid USD 40 a month when we were living at the cricket academy in 1990. I used to go to the TAB to have a bet on the dogs and @ShaneWarne gave me the nickname," Ponting said in a tweet in reply to a fan's question.

Ponting is one of the greatest batsmen and captains to have ever played cricket.

He is the highest run-getter for Australia in both Test and ODIs, amassing 13378 runs in 168 Tests and 13704 runs in 375 ODIs between 1995 and 2012.

He also played 17 T20 Internationals and made 401 runs with the highest score being 98. PTI PDS

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