McGrath puts his weight behind Ponting

Australian pace legend Glenn McGrath backed former teammate Ponting, despite a poor run of form and a century drought which stretches almost two years, to come up with a strong performance in the four-match Test series.

"I'm expecting big things from Rick," McGrath said in Sydney on Tuesday.

"He's got a big score not far away, I think. I have no doubts that our batting line-up will do the business," he said.

McGrath was speaking at the SCG at the launch of an art project to raise money for the McGrath Foundation.

McGrath warned India against taking Australia's young fast bowlers lightly and backed embattled batsman Ricky Ponting to come good in the first Test starting in Melbourne on December 26.

He also said injecting the team with young blood would invigorate Australia's performance.

"I think it's an exciting time for any young cricketer, especially young bowlers coming through at the moment. You saw what (James) Pattinson's done, what (Pat) Cummins (has) done.

(Mitchell) Starc's in the mix," said McGrath.

Talking about spinner Nathan Lyon, he said, "To have a spinner working alongside the quicks is again pretty exciting because he hasn't played much Test cricket either. So, hopefully the Indians will be surprised."

"In the bowling department, I'm really excited. There's a lot of opportunity for the young guys and that's also in the batting department too."