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Ponting trumps up Aussies' chances as Proteas mega clash looms
Mar 23, 2007 - 12:08:19 PM
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'He has been an important member of our team that's why we have given him the last five to six weeks to get ready.'
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By IANS,
[RxPG] Basseterre -, March 23 - Some are calling it a mega event and a blockbuster. Others say it is a precursor to the World Cup final.
However it is termed, it will be a match to savour when world champions Australia and number one-ranked ODI team South Africa meet at Warner Park here Saturday.
It is also the game the people of St Kitts & Nevis have waited to see and they are expected to fill the 10,000-seater stadium to witness the spectacle.
Australian captain Ricky Ponting said he was relishing the prospect of taking on the Proteas again, especially after their record-breaking run-feast a year ago in Johannesburg.
'It could set the tone for the World Cup,' Ponting told a media briefing here Thursday.
'It's a big game for us. It doesn't get much bigger than this. We have been waiting for this game. Having five, six days between games has been good for us. We will have no excuses come Saturday.'
Ponting remembers - maybe not fondly - South Africa scoring a record 438 to overhaul Australia's imposing 434 in that famous game at the Wanderers last year and said Warner Park's small boundaries could make it the ideal venue for a repeat.
'If it's going to happen again it will be on this ground. We will have to bat well and make a big score. You are going to see a very good spectacle,' the 33-year-old right-handed top-order batsman said, reports the Caribbean Media Corp -.
'All I can do is to ask the players to go out and do their best. I'm very confident that we can go out and perform somewhere near our best.'
Ponting said he did not mind South Africa having the slight advantage going into the match based on the ODI rankings.
'It's all about us going out and putting them under pressure. Maybe we can go into this game as the underdogs. But I know they will be talking about us in their team meeting tonight,' he said.
While Ponting admitted they would miss their pace trump card Brett Lee, who was ruled out the World Cup because of injury, he said new fast bowling sensation Shaun Tait, would compensate.
'We missed Brett in every game. We will miss him again. He has a good record against South Africa, especially against Graeme Smith -,' the Aussie captain said.
'Shaun is going to be erratic ... but if he gets it right then he will be effective.'
Another key player who might be missing for the Australians is talismanic all-rounder, Andrew Symonds, who for the past five weeks has been gradually building up to match-fitness after a bicep operation last month.
'He's gone up percentage-wise with his fitness. He has been training over the last two and he will do more training tomorrow. I'll know more about - this time tomorrow -,' Ponting said.
'He has been an important member of our team that's why we have given him the last five to six weeks to get ready.'
Like Australia, the South Africans also practiced Thursday.
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