HOBART, March 27: Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting said on Wednesday he will play another season with Tasmania after they won the Sheffield Shield competition.

The 38-year-old retired from international cricket in December and had been expected to make the current domestic season his last, but said he was in good touch and wanted to carry on.

“I’ve told Tasmanian cricket this week that I’m really keen to play on again next year,” said Ponting, who was last week named Sheffield Shield player of the year, having topped the inter-state competition’s run-scoring list.

“But in the same breath, I’ve also told them not to contract me. I don’t want to take a contract spot and pull out at the last minute.

“If I get through the [Australian] winter really well and I’m still keen to play again next year, then I’ll obviously go round again.”

Ponting, the second-highest Test run-scorer behind India’s Sachin Tendulkar, is due to play in the Indian Premier League, for English county Surrey and at a Caribbean Twenty20 tournament throughout 2013.

After winning the Sheffield Shield on Tuesday, his first trophy with the island state two decades after his debut, Ponting said he was still enjoying the game.

“It’s been a special time in my career, the last few months, to come back around these boys and feel like you’re having a bit of an influence over the way they’re playing their cricket,” he said.

“I love the culture and I wanted to give as much back as I could to Tassie cricket.”—AFP