That means a five-month break for a man used to life on the road with the national team, and there had been speculation he would aim to stay in touch by spending some time in county cricket. But Ponting, who has two young children, said taking some time away from the middle would be a good option over the Australian winter.
"It [county cricket] doesn't really fit into what I'm looking at doing," Ponting said in Melbourne. "I'm looking forward to having a bit more time pre-season with the Tasmanian Tigers this year back in Hobart and spending a bit of time with the family so county cricket is probably out of the question."
Ponting finished the 2011-12 season captaining Tasmania while the regular leader George Bailey was on international duty in the West Indies and although he failed to reach double-figures in the Sheffield Shield final, his state form was generally very good. Despite not being part of Australia's ODI side any more, it has still been a hectic few months for Ponting,
"I haven't entertained the idea at all of playing county cricket this year. I've got to look at what my best preparation is, post the West Indies, and that will probably be to have a couple of months off.
"It's been a hard 12 months for me personally and around my cricket. With things not going as smoothly as I wanted at the start of the year, I had to train harder and work harder on my game and think more about my game than ever before. It's taken its toll a little bit, so I need to have a chance to refresh and recharge my batteries and get a solid pre-season under my belt before the Australian summer."
-espncricinfo.com
