Melbourne, Dec 23 : Skipper Ricky Ponting, who has been termed Captain Pout for not supporting his young pace attack when it was flayed all over at WACA, has been termed as Australian sport's most marketable star.

Ponting, who might have lost his gloss, should sign up for every luxury watch, vitamin pill and car oil endorsement he can get his hands on, the Courier Mail has said.

The 33-year-old Tasmanian, who took the title from Ian Thorpe last winter, pipped retired swimmer Grant Hackett (No. 2) at the top of a list which includes no fewer than seven retired sports stars in its top 10.

That's seemingly an honour reserved for whoever sits in the Australian cricket team captain's chair.

"In terms of an individual athlete, there's probably no more important or higher profile position that a sports person could hold," Sweeney Sports general manager Todd Deacon said.

"It tends to be that if he's trusted as the captain of the Australian cricket team, he'd be trusted to speak on behalf of a range of products and brands."

However, the clock must surely be ticking on Punter, who earned about 3 million dollars in 2008, according to Sweeney.

Sweeney's "sponsorship appropriateness" survey was taken before Australia lost their tour of India. (ANI)