Bowling legend Shane Warne has called Ricky Ponting the "right man" to lead Australia for the Ashes series against England despite raising pressure on the captain by criticising him on Twitter.

Warne said the fall-out of his tweet was "staggering, but not surprising" and accused the media of trying to create a rift with Ponting, who faced calls for his head after the 2-0 Test series loss to India.