Brett Lee says he has thrived on the 'extra responsibility' of having to spearhead Australia's attack since the retirements of Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne.
Lee won the player of the series award for his 24 wickets at an average of 22.58 off 186.5 overs (33 maidens) in the four Tests against India - six wickets in Melbourne, seven in Sydney, six in Perth and five in Adelaide.
"I've really enjoyed it," he said. "I've been really pleased with the way I've bowled all summer. I worked very hard on my fitness after the World Cup.
"I've said all along over the past couple of months that was probably the most disappointing time in my life, missing the World Cup, after I'd worked so hard to try to get to that stage.
"So I had to work on my fitness. Obviously with no Glenn (McGrath) and Shane (Warne) it was time for someone to step up and I've really enjoyed that, I suppose, extra bit of responsibility with the team and also with Ricky (Ponting) throwing me the ball."
Ponting has defended left-arm spinner Brad Hogg's bowling in the series against India while suggesting Australia may well make more use of part-time spinners Andrew Symonds and Michael Clarke in future Tests.
Hogg took 8-481 off 125 overs in the Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide Tests as Australia's No.1 spinner in the absence of injured leg-spinner Stuart MacGill.
"I don't think Brad's let anybody down right through this series, to tell the truth," Ponting said after the fourth Test was drawn at Adelaide Oval.
"I think he's done the job we probably all expected he would do - probably no more, probably no less. He's done what we thought he would be able to do for us.
"He's probably disappointed coming out of this game because Adelaide is generally somewhere that does favour the spinners a little bit. But even if you look at their (the Indians') spinners, they had very little impact on the game as well, and they're probably two of the better spinners going around. So it probably says a bit about the surface in this game - that it was hard work for all bowlers.
"It's a little while now before we play any more Test cricket. We've got a couple of months of one-day cricket and then the selectors will sit down and pick who they think is going to be the next … well, if it's not Hogg … who the next spinner's going to be after that."
Ponting said Symonds and Clarke were doing 'a pretty good job' as part-time spinners.
"Symonds, especially late in the game, probably looked as dangerous as their spinners did, the way he bowled this afternoon - landing in the footmarks and getting a bit of natural variation from the wicket," he said.
"He's done a good job and Michael Clarke obviously won us a Test only a few weeks ago in Sydney, so maybe it comes down to me having to rely on them or lean on them a little bit more if our first-choice is not there.
"Hogg's our first-choice spinner in Australia at the moment and deserves to be so. If he's not around, maybe it's just a matter of leaning on those guys to get us those spinning breakthroughs."
- ALAN SHIELL