Australia captain Ricky Ponting said watching Graeme Smith bat with a broken finger and an injured elbow is one of the bravest thing he has ever seen in his life.

Ponting said Smith proved his worth as a leader by defying pain and coming out to bat when his team needed it. “I said that to him after the game. That showed a lot of courage,” Ponting said after Australia won the third and final Test.

“That’s what every team looks to from their leader. To show that fighting spirit, to stand up when they are needed, to get out and do a job no matter how sore or tired you might be,” added the Australian.

Forced to retire hurt after a Mitchell Johnson delivery broke his finger in the first innings, Smith stunned the Sydney Cricket Ground crowd as he defied medical advice and walked out in the middle to try and force a draw even though his heroic was not enough in the end.

With the possibility of a rain looming in the horizon, Ponting admitted he got nervous towards the end.

“I must admit I was probably a bit more worried about the rain coming for an hour leading up to that than really paying too much attention to how many overs we had left in the day,” he said.