I've always said Ponting is a very, very fine batsman but that it's no coincidence that his career took-off the way it did at the precise moment run-scoring became so easy. There are all sorts of other batsmen who started scoring heaps more than they had previously around about the same time: Hayden, Laxman, Dravid, Kallis, Martyn, etc. At virtually no other time in the game's history have we had an abundance of players averaging in the 50s, 60s and even 70s over 4 or 5 years. The reasons for this are well-discussed: poor flat pitches, abysmal quality cricket-balls, rubbish bowlers, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe being included in Test statistics, the like.
One final point: yes, Craig, Ponting's knock against Bangladesh was a superb one. Here's something for you, though: these two knocks by Matthew Hayden were also superb. Believe me, I know, I watched them. Does that mean that game should be classed a Test, too?