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8th October 2006, 18:42
Ponting says they will find their best XI and stick with it. Your thoughts on this?
Champions Trophy, 2006-07
Ponting determined to break Champions Trophy jinx
Siddhartha Vaidyanathan in New Delhi
October 8, 2006
For Ivan Lendl, it was Wimbledon; for Boris Becker and Pete Sampras it was the red clay at the French Open; for the current Australian side it's been the Champions Trophy. Ricky Ponting couldn't zero in on why Australia had failed to capture the mini World Cup but insisted that his side were suitably prepared to tackle this one.
Just like Andrew Flintoff yesterday, Ponting stated the importance of this tournament, adding that thoughts of the Ashes had, for a while at least, been put on the backburner. "It's a very important tournament for us, the second biggest that we play as an ODI team," he said while speaking at Australia's pre-tournament media session in Delhi. "It's something that's eluded us in the recent years - we've made it to the semi-finals in the last two Champions Trophies - and we're hoping for more this time. We've come here pretty well prepared and there's still time before it starts. We've got a good record in India while playing one-day cricket over the years, hopefully that will come through early on."
Since the start of the decade, in the 12 games they've played in India, Australia have won nine and lost just three. The last of those games was the final of the TVS Cup in Kolkata, when a second-string Australian side triumphed by 37 runs. This time, though, Ponting clearly stated that they would be looking to put out their "best side" from the word go. "We have 14 players here and you'd think that when the first game comes around, we'll have our best XI and maintain that team throughout, injuries permitting."
Questions marks, though, hang over Glenn McGrath's fitness, someone who Ponting would dare not risk ahead of the all-important Ashes campaign. "Glenn came back really well in Malaysia," said Ponting when asked for his assessment. "He was never going to come back and be at his absolute best straight away, but I thought he improved game by game in Kuala Lumpur. In the final game he bowled six overs for six runs. Then, he went back and played club cricket and got about 26-28 overs under his belt. We're going to monitor his progress through the course of the Champions Trophy, with an eye on the Ashes, and keep him as ready as possible for that."
Australia kick off their campaign on October 18, against one of the qualifiers, but it's their next two that are the big ones. On October 21 - which also happens to be the festive day of Diwali - they take on England at Jaipur before locking horns with India, one week later, at Mohali. Ponting spoke of the England game, a chance to make the early running ahead of one of the most-hyped Ashes series in recent memory. "There's still a while before the first Test [at Brisbane on November 23] but certainly it will be our first chance to play them before the Ashes. We'd like to think we can provide some sort of statement in that game."
The early part of that early statement will need to come from the openers, an aspect that even Australia have struggled with in the last few years. As the latest Numbers Game column pointed out, Australia have tried out 12 opening pairs since the start of 2005, a figure that places them behind only West Indies and India in the opener-juggling stakes. "We had a look at [Shane] Watson in Kuala Lumpur," said Ponting when asked about this conundrum. "He was pretty impressive there. [Simon] Katich has done well for close to 18 months or so, since he's had the opportunity to open. It's not an area of concern for us. We looked at a few things in Kuala Lumpur and thought of a better way of doing it, and hopefully we can get it right during the practice matches here."
Siddhartha Vaidyanathan is staff writer of Cricinfo
© Cricinfo
Champions Trophy, 2006-07
Ponting determined to break Champions Trophy jinx
Siddhartha Vaidyanathan in New Delhi
October 8, 2006
For Ivan Lendl, it was Wimbledon; for Boris Becker and Pete Sampras it was the red clay at the French Open; for the current Australian side it's been the Champions Trophy. Ricky Ponting couldn't zero in on why Australia had failed to capture the mini World Cup but insisted that his side were suitably prepared to tackle this one.
Just like Andrew Flintoff yesterday, Ponting stated the importance of this tournament, adding that thoughts of the Ashes had, for a while at least, been put on the backburner. "It's a very important tournament for us, the second biggest that we play as an ODI team," he said while speaking at Australia's pre-tournament media session in Delhi. "It's something that's eluded us in the recent years - we've made it to the semi-finals in the last two Champions Trophies - and we're hoping for more this time. We've come here pretty well prepared and there's still time before it starts. We've got a good record in India while playing one-day cricket over the years, hopefully that will come through early on."
Since the start of the decade, in the 12 games they've played in India, Australia have won nine and lost just three. The last of those games was the final of the TVS Cup in Kolkata, when a second-string Australian side triumphed by 37 runs. This time, though, Ponting clearly stated that they would be looking to put out their "best side" from the word go. "We have 14 players here and you'd think that when the first game comes around, we'll have our best XI and maintain that team throughout, injuries permitting."
Questions marks, though, hang over Glenn McGrath's fitness, someone who Ponting would dare not risk ahead of the all-important Ashes campaign. "Glenn came back really well in Malaysia," said Ponting when asked for his assessment. "He was never going to come back and be at his absolute best straight away, but I thought he improved game by game in Kuala Lumpur. In the final game he bowled six overs for six runs. Then, he went back and played club cricket and got about 26-28 overs under his belt. We're going to monitor his progress through the course of the Champions Trophy, with an eye on the Ashes, and keep him as ready as possible for that."
Australia kick off their campaign on October 18, against one of the qualifiers, but it's their next two that are the big ones. On October 21 - which also happens to be the festive day of Diwali - they take on England at Jaipur before locking horns with India, one week later, at Mohali. Ponting spoke of the England game, a chance to make the early running ahead of one of the most-hyped Ashes series in recent memory. "There's still a while before the first Test [at Brisbane on November 23] but certainly it will be our first chance to play them before the Ashes. We'd like to think we can provide some sort of statement in that game."
The early part of that early statement will need to come from the openers, an aspect that even Australia have struggled with in the last few years. As the latest Numbers Game column pointed out, Australia have tried out 12 opening pairs since the start of 2005, a figure that places them behind only West Indies and India in the opener-juggling stakes. "We had a look at [Shane] Watson in Kuala Lumpur," said Ponting when asked about this conundrum. "He was pretty impressive there. [Simon] Katich has done well for close to 18 months or so, since he's had the opportunity to open. It's not an area of concern for us. We looked at a few things in Kuala Lumpur and thought of a better way of doing it, and hopefully we can get it right during the practice matches here."
Siddhartha Vaidyanathan is staff writer of Cricinfo
© Cricinfo