da betsson： Even as Ricky Ponting looked ahead to Australia’s winner-takes-allencounter against England on Saturday at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium, he was emphatic in his assessment that the result wouldn’t have any sort of bearing on the upcoming Ashes
The Preview by Dileep Premachandran in Jaipur20-Oct-2006
Ponting: ‘England’s one-day form hasn’t been that good since we played them last year. They haven’t played as well as they would have liked’ © AFP
Even as Ricky Ponting looked ahead to Australia’s winner-takes-allencounter against England on Saturday at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium, hewas emphatic in his assessment that the result wouldn’t have any sort ofbearing on the upcoming Ashes series. For the moment, Australia’s focus isvery much on the Champions Trophy, the only major event where they haven’teven made the final.”Both teams probably are,” he said with a wry smile, when asked if hisside was champing at the bit to take on England again. “It doesn’t feellike that long ago [the last Ashes series]. There’s been a lot made ofthis, and how teams might take something away from it for the Ashes. I’mnot a big believer in that. There’s a lot of change-over when it comes tothe players in the Test side and the one-day one.”Defeat in Mumbai to a resurgent West Indies side was certainly a jolt, andAustralia may well be tempted into a change on a surface where India andEngland struggled to aggregate 250 runs over two innings. The pitchappeared extremely dry and the cracks on the surface could be seen evenfrom the press box, nearly 100 yards away.Brad Hogg bowled only three overs in Mumbai, while Michael Clarke andAndrew Symonds combined for 17, and may well be left out toaccommodate the pace and swing option offered by Mitchell Johnson. Johnsonmade a big impression in bowler-friendly conditions in Malaysia, but isvery much an unknown quantity on these type of pitches. He missed practice today because of a stomach bug but is expected to be fit tomorrow.If Australia do leave Hogg out, it could also be due to some concern overthe dew factor that so negated Sri Lanka’s slow bowlers in the gameagainst Pakistan. “The dew’s been unpredictable, both here and in Mumbai,”he said. “It certainly didn’t get very wet the other night in Mumbai. Ithink everyone there will bat first, while maybe bowling first at theother venues. Whatever you end up doing first, you just have to do it verywell.”The batting too has been below par since the start of the season, heavilyreliant on individual brilliance to offset unaccustomed wobbles at the topof the order. Shane Watson failed as opener in Mumbai, but will surely geta chance to redeem himself here, and for the likes of Damien Martyn, thedoors of Last Chance Saloon will swing shut if the run-drought extendsinto the next fortnight.”To be fair, some of the pitches we’ve played on haven’t been great,” saidPonting, when asked about the lack of dominant performances with the bat.”But yeah, the bowlers have been very good and it’s about time the battersput some runs on the board.” The downward spiral continued in Mumbai,where Jerome Taylor’s hat-trick sent them tumbling to a 10-run defeat.”Whenever you lose, you break things down and analyse what went wrong,”said Ponting. “We made crucial mistakes at bad times – lost wickets upfront, and then one run-out really set us back when we seemed in controlof the situation. You can’t afford to make those in low-scoring games.”Australia, though, tend to be at their best in crisis. Ponting referredpointedly to the 1999 World Cup, where Australia lost their opening twoleague matches before winning everything in sight and also to the VBSeries last year, where they lost the first final to Sri Lanka beforestorming back. “It tends to bring out the best in us,” he said, “whenwe’re under the pump.”With many of the questions centred on pre-Ashes sparring matches, Pontinglaughed off suggestions that the team would be targetting any specificindividuals on Saturday. “It’s the bowlers who come out and say that, mostGlenn [McGrath] and Shane [Warne],” he said with a laugh. “I think theylike putting themselves under pressure. I think it was [Andrew] Strauss that Glennspoke about before the last series. Maybe it’ll be him again tomorrow.”The one-day matches between the two team during the NatWest Series and theNatWest Challenge last year were too close to call, but Ponting suggestedthat England had stagnated as a one-day team since. “Their one-day formhasn’t been that good since we played them last year,” he said. “Theyhaven’t played as well as they would have liked.”Ponting refused to make too much of the increased pollution that’s sure tobe a factor during the game after tens of thousands of fireworks andcrackers have been set off as part of the Diwali festivities. “I sent theboys out this morning to buy some gas-masks,” he said, tongue firmly incheek. “We know there’ll be a bit of haze, a bit of smoke, but we justhope we can see the ball.”The scheduling sees Australia facing an eight-day break between this matchand the game against India in Mohali, but according to Ponting, it was thehosts that were worst affected. “What can you do about it?” he said whenasked what he thought of the long gap. “I think India have got the worstof it – 11 days without a game is almost unheard of in a one-daytournament.”Having faltered at the finish against West Indies, Australia willundoubtedly go hard at the English. Despite protestations to the contrary,a few Ashes-related blows will certainly be aimed. The new-ball bowlerswill target Strauss and Andrew Flintoff – “If we get him out, itleaves them a bit thin when it comes to power-hitting lower down theorder,” said Ponting, when asked about Flintoff’s decision to bat at No.3- and Steve Harmison’s dreadful first over against India will no doubtencourage Adam Gilchrist and Watson.”This is our second game of the Champions Trophy,” said Ponting, brushingoff suggestions that this was a prelude to the real thing. “I don’t see alot coming out of it as far as the Ashes is concerned. Once we get backhome, we’ll start thinking about that.” Having lost their opening games,both teams will be hoping that they don’t get home too early.Australia (likely): 1 Adam Gilchrist (wk), 2 Shane Watson, 3 RickyPonting (capt), 4 Damien Martyn, 5 Andrew Symonds, 6 Michael Clarke, 7Michael Hussey, 8 Mitchell Johnson, 9 Brett Lee, 10 Nathan Bracken, 11Glenn McGrath.