Ricky Ponting didn't allow his poor form in the league stage of the World Cup affect his leadership qualities, says Australia opener Brad Haddin.

After aggregating a measly 102 runs at 20.40 from six matches, Ponting fought his way back to form with a defiant century in the quarterfinal against India, but his effort went in vain as the co-hosts successfully chased down Australia's target of 261 to end their 12-year reign as world champions.

"The best thing about Ricky Ponting is no matter how he's going or how he's feeling personally, his involvement in the team and his demeanour and everything around the group doesn't change," Haddin said. "He's a very consistent personality and he's a very consistent leader."

The in-form opener, who topped Australia's batting charts with 332 runs at 55.33, said the the pain of the team's quarterfinal exit is going to "hurt" the players for a long time. "It's disappointing and it's going to hurt for a long time," said Haddin.

"The way we've gone out of the tournament now in the quarter-finals, all those personal milestones are good to look back on in years to come probably," said Haddin. "It's probably still pretty painful what happened. It doesn't stand too good with me how many runs you made or how well you bowled or how well you caught."

"We bowed out in the quarter-finals and in the end that's the bottomline," he added.

Haddin is well aware of the repercussions of the team's shocking exit back home. "After a big tournament like this, especially a World Cup with four-year cycles, there's always going to be speculation."

"There's always going to be things thrown up to see what direction Australian cricket is going to take. We'll just have to wait and see what they decide to do and what sort of road they decide to go down."

Haddin, who is expected to face pressure from back-up wicketkeeper Tim Paine, 26, for his place in the Test and one-day sides in the coming years, said he is not thinking about the next World Cup, slated to be held in Australia and New Zealand in 2015. "It will be a while before I get over the disappointment of this one and move forward."

"I would be only guessing or speculating to know what's going to happen down the track," Haddin said.