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| Tuesday, 2 March 2004 |
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Test cricket is a huge patience game here - Ponting by Sa'adi Thawfeeq Australian captain Ricky Ponting looking ahead at the three-Test series against Sri Lanka starting Monday week at Galle said that Test cricket was a huge patience game on the subcontinent. "You just have to bide your time and hang in there as long as possible. Games can change quickly but more often than not they don't here. You have got to grind out Test wins over here," said Ponting yesterday. "It is really hard work starting here. The first 10 to 15 minutes is difficult because you are going to be facing spin more often that not and there are going to be men around the bat. It just takes time to get used to it," he said. Ponting said the 3-2 win the five-match one-day international series had given his team the confidence to perform well in the Test series. "We played the sort of cricket that we knew we had to play and we managed to play a little bit better than Sri Lanka did over those five games," said Ponting. "We have performed well over all over the world in the last couple of years and I think we took a lot of confidence out of how we played in India. I think it was a bit of realisation that no matter the conditions or the opposition, we could do well. I thought we brought that attitude into this series. We know what it takes to win over here now. "We have all improved in these conditions. What we have achieved suggests that. We know what we have to do to play well in the Test matches and it is just about us doing it when it counts," he said. Ponting who took a rest by keeping himself out of the fifth one-day international at the SSC on Sunday, will be back to lead Australia in the three-day warm-up game against a Sri Lanka Cricket President's XI starting the CCC grounds today. In the Australian line up interestingly will be two leg-spinners Shane Warne and Stuart MacGill along with Darren Lehmann and Justin Langer, the four who flew down to Colombo for the Test series. Warne - the drawcard Undoubtedly Warne will be the draw card as he takes another step towards preparing himself for a return to the Australian Test team after going through a 12-month ban for taking drugs. "It is good to have him back around us again. Everyone understands that it has been a pretty tough 12 months for him and he has worked exceptionally hard. He looks in great shape and is apparently bowling very well," said Ponting. "Just having him around adds a lot to us. He is one of the all-time greats in the game and if you can slot those kinds of guys back into your side then you are going to have a bit more of an aura when you take the field," he said. With so many options left for Australia to pick in their Test eleven from, Ponting said the three-day game would give them a fair idea of who would be playing at Galle. "I really don't know which way the selectors are leaning at the moment. I am sure that they will keep a very close eye on this game. But I don't want guys to be playing off against each other. It is not a bowl-off or anything - it's a three-day practice game," said Ponting. "We have got two of the best leg spinners in the world and three of the best fast bowlers in the world. And we have an all rounder who has performed exceptionally well over the last 12 months. There is so much flexibility and so many options." "You can look at the side and pick six or seven different teams. You can stack it with fast bowlers, spinners or a combination of both. One thing that you have to take into consideration here is that the ball is likely to reverse swing a bit as well," he said. Another player who draw the crowds is Andrew Symonds who is the hottest topic of discussion after the Australian selectors decided to include him in the Test squad for the first time. Until the Sri Lanka tour Symonds was rated a one-day player. But his performances here has been so consistent with both bat and ball that the selectors were compelled not to overlook him for the longer game. "We know the way that he plays he is going to put pressure on their spinners. We have already seen that in the one-day series. He has bowled pretty well too and has probably been our most economical and, at times, dangerous bowler. He has done everything he can do to give himself the best chance of being picked," said Ponting. Lehmann and Simon Katich are two other players fighting for a Test place. Both are pretty handy with the bat as well as with the ball. Lehmann looks for solace Lehmann will probably try to use the Sri Lankan tour to get over the nightmares he's being going through following the death of his former South Australian captain and confidente David Hookes. He revealed publicly for the first time that he considered quitting international cricket after Hookes' death, but once the funeral was over it woke him up a bit to think that he had to start moving with life and cricket. "It wasn't the end of it but gave me focus on cricket again. Things are picking up and the thing that's been good for me is to get back into cricket, playing day in day out and just enjoying the game again," said Lehmann. "Every game's a new goal and I'll just try to play well on this tour and hopefully get a game and see where it goes from there. I've learned enough now from experience not to put my goals too far ahead. For me, every game's a bonus," he said. The last year has been the most tumultous of Lehmann's career. It started out with a blood infection that forced him out of the Test side and was followed by a ban for a racial sledge against the Sri Lankans. He then featured in the stunning high point of taking the winning catch in the World Cup final, then three breakthrough centuries as a Test batsman, followed by an Achilles tendon injury and the death of Hookes. Sri Lankan selectors will also be using this match to give some of the batsmen some useful practice ahead of the Test series and particularly the fitness of fast bowler Dilhara Fernando after a back injury. The teams: SRI LANKAN PRESIDENT'S XI (from): Tilan Samaraweera (captain), Avishka Gunawardana, Saman Jayantha, Sajith Fernando, Russel Arnold, Lanka de Silva (w/k), Gayan Wijekoon, Kaushal Lokuarachchi, Rangana Herath, Dilhara Fernando, Ruchira Perera, Omesh Wijesiriwardene, Dhammika Sudarshana, Muthumudalige Pushpakumara. AUSTRALIANS: Ricky Ponting (captain), Justin Langer, Darren Lehmann, Andrew Symonds, Simon Katich, Wade Seccombe (w/k), Brett Lee, Michael Kasprowicz, Brad Williams, Stuart MacGill, Shane Warne. UMPIRES: Jagath Nandakumara and Rienzie Martinez. |
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