Sydney, May 10 (ANI): Australian cricket captain Ricky Ponting has topped a list of sports stars from Down Under with the most sponsorship appeal.

In the annual survey carried out by Sweeney Sports, the two-time cricket World Cup winning captain beat former swimming star Ian Thorpe, who has been leading the rankings since 2001, to top the list.

"It just goes to show the power of the Aussie captain and the fact that he is in the media all the time," the Sydney Morning Herald quoted Sweeney director Martin Hirons, as saying.

Ponting climbed five places to top the survey.

Thanks to the Ashes series and World Cup victories, five cricketers figured in the top-10 list, which also had retired players like, tennis star Patrick Rafter and Thorpe.

It was for the first time since 1991 that cricket trounced other sports to top the survey, which was thus far dominated by swimming, reports the paper.

1000 Australians, aged between 16 and 65, were surveyed between October and March. (ANI)

Email to friend           Add to Del.icio.us