His one-day international career is over as far as he’s concerned but Ricky Ponting is nowhere near ready to walk away from Test cricket.

The 37-year-old former Australian captain told a packed media conference in Sydney on Tuesday he intended to continue his 162-Test career despite being dropped from Australia’s one-day team on Monday after a poor run of form with the bat.

Ponting said he understood the selectors’ decision and the direction they were heading with the ODI squad and didn’t expect a recall.

“Obviously I’ve been dropped and left out of the one-day side which I’m disappointed about but life goes on for me,” Ponting said.

“I’ll continue playing Test cricket and I’ll continue playing cricket for Tasmania as well.

“I think I’ve proven to myself and everyone else that I’m still capable of playing Test cricket.”

The selectors’ decision means the curtain has all but certainly come down on one of Australia’s greatest one-day international careers.

Ponting, a three-time World Cup winner including victories as captain in 2003 and 2007, is the second highest run-scorer in ODI history.

He has tallied 13,704 runs in 375 ODIs, a tally only bettered by Indian great Sachin Tendulkar.

Ponting said the 2003 World Cup final, where he belted an unbeaten 140 against India, was the highlight of his 17-year ODI career.

The 37-year-old admitted it was going to be a challenge to maintain his sharpness for Tests with the limited amount of cricket he now had to play.

But he said his love of the game was still strong and he had no intentions of giving away all forms of international cricket after a resurgent Test series against India this summer where he averaged over 100 including a double-century in the final Test at Adelaide Oval.

“The reason I’m disappointed about getting dropped is how much I actually love representing my country and playing cricket for Australia,” he said.

“I’ve got no bitterness at all. I totally accept what has happened and their reasons why.”

If selected, Ponting will play in the upcoming tour of the West Indies, but after that there’s a significant break for Australia’s Test team until a home series against South Africa starting in November.

Ponting said it was unlikely he would seek a contract with an English county team during that period but conceded he would have to manage himself carefully to ensure he’s playing enough cricket to stay sharp before the South African series.

He said it remained an ambition to play the next Ashes series in 2013 but that wasn’t a definitive reason for playing on.

“The passion for international cricket for me has not died or changed one little bit,” he said.