Ponting under pressure after defeat
Posted on Oct 22, 2008 at 18:34 | Updated Oct 23, 2008 at 10:44
2 Comments
New Delhi: The Border-Gavaskar is slipping away from Australia and Ricky Ponting knows it. This Indian team that he is confronted with has the firepower to match the Aussies in all departments and outplay them.
It's rare to hear an Australian captain sounding like a lamb being led to slaughter at a post-match media interaction.
"We are not accustomed to being behind in a Test series. What I want to do is take the boys away from cricket for a couple of days. Back to back Test matches is always hard work. We want to clear our minds from what has happened here and individually think about what we did and more importantly what we didn't do," said Ponting after Australia went down by 320 runs in the second Test in Mohali.
Australia have had a long line of successful captains; from Allan Border to Mark Taylor to Steve Waugh. Ponting has handled the burden of that legacy quite well but if he concedes the series in India, could his job be under question?
"Australians don't change captains too easily or too likely but certainly they will be looking at ways to assist Ponting, who was clearly under stress in Mohali. And I would like to see Matthew Hayden, Stuart Clark when he plays and Brett Lee really coming together and backing Ponting, that would help his captaincy a lot," said cricketer-turned-journalist Peter Roebuck.
Ponting's own form with the bat since the first innings hundred in Bangalore has fallen off dramatically in the last three innings. And with quality players like Matthew Hayden under-performing, he is hoping that the Australians will rise from the ruins.
"Ideally I will like to have an attack that has got the Warnes and McGraths of the world but these guys are not there in it. So, we have to find other newer guys and less experienced guys who can get the job done for us," asserted the Aussie skipper.
Ponting has won 33 of his 46 Tests as captain. So he does have the weight of numbers to back him, but defeats can be brutal and can have its repercussions.
(With inputs from Nishant Arora in Mohali)
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Total Comments: 2
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Posted By asmehta84
Beautifully said...
This is will keep the mouths of sachin\'s critics shut. Statistics alone dont prove one\'s
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Posted By theaktripathi
Every one has been waiting for the fall of Sachin from years, i would rather say from decades. Lots with
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