Australia captain Ricky Ponting has come up with a simple solution to end his team's
habit of failing to defend massive totals -- bat second.
Australia have been on the wrong end of the four biggest
run-chases in one-day cricket history, all in the past 14 months, raising concerns
about the ability of their bowlers to contain the opposition when they are throwing
caution to the wind.
The side has generally followed conventional thinking by batting
first when they win the toss but Ponting said they may have to consider changing
their policy when they get to the West Indies for next month's World
Cup.
"We're going to come up against some small grounds in
the World Cup, so the consideration of batting second in one-day cricket is
something to think about," Ponting told a business lunch in Sydney
on Thursday.
"That straight away eases a bit of the pressure on the bowlers."
Ponting was one of five senior Australian players who missed
the team's short tour of New Zealand, where they were beaten 3-0.
He accepted the team had not played at its best but dismissed suggestions they
were on the slide because they had lost five games in a row.
"I don't think the team's in any dire straits at the moment," he
said.
"We've had a few injuries and lost a few guys, but I'm pretty confident
that we'll be ultra competitive in every game we play.
"If you sat back and look at the results only and you notice that we've
lost five games in a row, it doesn't read that well.
"But I think right through everyone of those games we've done lots of
things well, but we haven't done them well enough for long enough."
Ponting said the results had not reduced his confidence in the team but admitted
they have boosted the morale of their opponents.
"I think other teams around the world will be thinking
Australia are beatable now, where only a few weeks ago everybody was wondering
how any other team in the world was going to compete with us," Ponting
said.
"We've got some areas we need to address, but we've got a little bit of
time now.
"There's a good chance for the guys now to freshen up
after a long (Australian) summer for a few days, and we'll get over there and
make sure we're working as hard as ever on our game."
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