Date:01/10/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/10/01/stories/2008100157121900.htm

Sport - Cricket

‘Bottomline is how you adapt to the challenges’

Principal Correspondent

— PHOTO: AFP

EXUDING CONFIDENCE: Ricky Ponting has dismissed the theory that his team is too inexperienced to test the Indians.

HYDERABAD: Ricky Ponting, the Australian captain, dismisses the theory that his team is too inexperienced to test the Indians on their home grounds in the forthcoming Test series. “The bottomline is how you adapt to the challenges on the given day. The Australians are always known to take challenges head on and are always one step ahead. That is the reason why we are so successful and the No. 1 team for about a decade now,” he said.

Ponting, briefing the media here on Tuesday, ahead of the four-day match against the Board President’s XI from October 2, said that his team has got lots of exuberance and energy which is vital for the team’s success. “These youngsters have been playing all over the world and I don’t think there should be any hiccups.”

On his poor run

Commenting on his own poor run on Indian soil, the 33-year-old Aussie captain said: “It is a blemish in my international career compared to the healthy averages I have in every other country. But, I know what I have to do to be amongst the runs. I am ready for the big challenge of taking on the Indians this time around,” he said. “It is a question of rectifying a few mistakes here and there.”

Questioned on the failure of his batsmen against the spinners in the Jaipur practice match, the Aussie captain said that it was not a great wicket and hoped for better conditions in the Test series.

Referring to the impression that this Australian side may not be as formidable as compared to the previous teams, Ponting explained that they are going through a transition phase. He admitted that the loss in the CB series to India was definitely disappointing.

On sledging, Ponting said that even during the last controversial tour of India down under it was not as bad as it was made out to be. “We know it is important to play the game in the right spirit. It is the responsibility of the captains to ensure that the series is played in a fair and competitive spirit.”

Security concerns

Reflecting on the security concerns and Stuart Clark’s reported reservations on playing in India, Ponting said they need not be a true reflection. “The security experts from both sides are taking care of the situation. They are confident of the measures being taken. So, we rely on the experts and play the game,” he said. On the possibility of Sachin Tendulkar breaking the world record for the highest number of Test runs, Ponting paid rich compliments to him.

“I have the highest regard for him. He is one of the all-time greats of the game. It should be another great achievement in his career.” Ponting also said that Tendulkar is one batsman who has to be overcome, if the Aussies were to win the Tests.

Ponting said that he was not averse to the option of referral system which he hinted would be in vogue later in the year back home.

“I believe that everyone makes mistakes. So, it is always good to eradicate them by this referral system.”