Melbourne, Oct.22 : Former Australian cricket captain Kim Hughes has advised current incumbent Ricky Ponting to be patient, and suggested that he should not change his style of captaincy because of a one-off loss to India.

Saying that he was not surprised by the Australian team's struggle in the current series, Hughes added: "It (Australian captaincy) is a huge challenge because the pressure tends to come from everywhere."

"When Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer were in peak form, Ricky was used to coming in at 1-80. Suddenly Australia is losing wickets in the first over and he is forced to face Ishant Sharma, who I reckon is one of the best young fast bowlers in the world. And the pressure there is even more because Sharma has a good record against Ricky," Hughes said. (five dismissals in four Tests).

Asked what his one line of advice would be to Ponting, Hughes was quoted by the Courier Mail as saying: "They have an old saying in Madras . . . to lose patience is to lose the battle. That's what he needs to remember."

He also said that Australia would be the best organised team and best fielding side.

"The days of the four-day Test wins are gone. We will have tougher five-day games now. With the exception of playing in India, I think, we can be competitive with anyone because you look at the other teams. We will probably lose the top spot but apart from India who is going to storm past us? South Africa will be competitive," said Hughes.

He also said that he saw Shane Watson as a better prospect than Andrew Symonds for the No. 6 slot because "hehas the better technique."

Symonds, he said, would need to perform well in four-day matches before he returns.

ANI