Ricky Ponting believes that Steve Smith is the best candidate to replace Michael Clarke as captain of Australia's one-day international side.

Clarke announced his decision to step down from the position following the conclusion of the Cricket World Cup, which the Aussies won for a fifth time.

In recent years, George Bailey had taken over the responsibility when Clarke was unavailable, but former skipper Ponting has stressed that 25-year-old Smith is the future, both at ODI and Test levels.

"I am a huge George Bailey fan, we have played a lot of state cricket together. He's also been a great leader, but this guy, Smith, is just in the prime of his career right now," Ponting told ESPN.

"He is playing beautifully, and it looks like he has sewn down the number three batting spot, potentially even in the Test team.

"With Clarke making the decision to retire from one-day cricket, you would think he's only got a couple of years of Test cricket left in him, so Smith should be serving as one-day captain to be totally ready to take over the Test job when Michael finishes."

Both Clarke and Smith have been named in Australia's squad for The Ashes this summer.