Ricky Ponting will have to survive - and thrive in - 13 Tests against four different nations if he's to fulfil his dream of exiting the game with one final Ashes tour.
A day after his limited overs career was terminated by the national selectors, Ponting ended speculation he was about to retire from all forms of the game, defiantly declaring he intended playing Test cricket well into his late 30s.
The 2013 Ashes tour would appear the perfect way for the former Australia captain to bow out - if he can retain his spot in the side.
A career-saving series against India this summer in which he scored 544 runs at 108.8 ensured Ponting will tour the West Indies next month, but there are no guarantees after that.
Australia host South Africa and Sri Lanka in separate three Tests series next summer before a searching four-Test series away to India.
The Ashes squad will be announced after that and Ponting must keep performing to keep younger players at bay.
"With the Indian Test series going the way it did for me, it reinforced I still have what it takes to be a dominant player at international level in the Test arena," he said in Sydney on Tuesday.
"The passion for international cricket has not died or changed one little bit."
"I still don't see a finish line as far as my international career is concerned."
"I will make a decision (on retirement) when I think I can't contribute to winning games of cricket for Australia."
"That's all that's been motivating me for the past 12 months."
"When those feelings die off then it will be time for me to hang up the boots."
Pressed on whether recapturing the Ashes in England would be the perfect way to depart cricket at age 38, Ponting replied: "It'd be great to get back for the Ashes."
"If I am a good enough player it'd be great to be able to go back there one more time and hopefully have a few better memories than what I've had in England the last couple of tours."
Asked if he wanted revenge after overseeing a record three Ashes series losses as captain, he added: "Everybody is as far as Ashes cricket's concerned."
Ponting is disappointed but comfortable with the selectors' decision to axe him from the one-day side after a string of failures.
But it has not diluted his desire to continue playing the longest form of the game.
"We all know that day (retirement) is coming closer and closer for me but I just love the game and I love every opportunity I get to play and represent my country," he said.
"As long as I am contributing and not keeping players out of the Australian cricket team, I'll keep going."
"My love and passion for the game has not wavered at all."
"Being dropped from the Australian one-day team hasn't changed the way I think about the Test game."
Asked if it was a risk playing on, Ponting said: "Only if it ends badly. I'm backing myself to finish my career on a high."
"I don't want to finish on a low."
Meanwhile, Ponting has made himself available for Tasmania in Saturday's Ryobi Cup final against South Australia as the Tigers chase their third one-day title in five seasons.
