Australian skipper Ricky Ponting is convinced that whoever has the biggest guns will win any World Cup duel.
After Australia extended its unbeaten stretch in World Cups to 14 matches with a 96-run demolition of Sri Lanka in the opening Super Six match, Ponting said he’d instructed his fast bowlers to be ruthless.
He warned rival batsmen that they should either hit the ball or risk being hit. Brett Lee was ferocious in his first spell, hitting Sri Lanka skipper Sanath Jayasuriya twice in his first over to knock and forcing the opener to retire hurt, then taking three wickets as the 1996 champions slumped to 48 for four.
Chasing Australia’s 319 for five, Sri Lanka was bowled out for 223 and now has injury concerns over Jayasuriya ahead of Monday’s critical match with India. Ponting, reflecting on a fractured thumb and bruised left wrist that his opposite number sustained in one over facing Lee, didn’t make any excuses for the aggressive tactics.
”You never want to see anyone get seriously hurt, and I hope (Jayasuriya) hasn’t been seriously injured. But it’s a World Cup, and we’re trying to bowl where their batsmen are least likely to score,” Ponting was quoted saying. ”If that happens to be at the body, then it will be at the body.”
Lee, the second-fastest bowler ever in cricket, was instructed to bowl stump-to-stump to avoid giving Jayasuriya any latitude. ”We’re not going to go out there and bowl him full, wide ones because he’s going to smack us over cover or point every time,” said Ponting, adding that Jayasuriya doesn’t like to be cramped.
”That’s a weakness in his game, and we’ve picked up on that of late and we’ve been able to execute that pretty well.”
Australia’s bowling attack is missing champion legspinner Shane Warne, who is serving a 12-month ban for a doping offence, and paceman Jason Gillespie, who has a nagging Achilles problem. Andy Bichel has been a more than capable replacement for Gillespie, picking up 7-20 against England in the last league match
to register the second-best bowling figures in a World Cup.
He’s comes on just behind Glenn McGrath, who holds the World Cup bowling record at 7-15 and who now is sharing the new ball with Lee.
The pitches and conditions in South Africa are similar to those in Australia, which favour the quicks. ”Anything that’s got a fair bit of pace and bounce in it, guys
like Brett Lee and Glenn McGrath are going to get the most out of it,” Ponting said. ”If there’s that pace and bounce, then we will try and unsettle in that fashion.”
The Aussies do ease off sometimes — they were given the day off training on Saturday.
^NO BAT, NO BOWL: In a bizarre twist on Saturday, Zimbabwe
legspinner Brian Murphy managed to set foot on the field of play
only to sing the national anthem in a six-wicket loss to Super Six
World Cup loss to New Zealand.
Batting low down in the order, the 26-year-old Murphy didn’t get
a bat as Zimbabwe amassed 252 for seven in its 50 overs.
During the lunch break, he was warming up in the nets at the
stadium and he strained a calf-muscle, rendering him unable to bowl
or field.
”He has been bowling well,” said Zimbabwe captain Heath Streak,
”and taking wickets, so we certainly missed him.”
Compounding Zimbabwe’s problem, Murphy had been a tactical
replacement for Doug Marillier in the starting lineup.
”I would have liked to have called on Brian in the middle
overs,” Streak said. ”We needed someone to take wickets to create
pressure.”
The injury is not serious, and Murphy is expected to be
available for Wednesday’s match against Kenya.
^—
^SYMCOX QUITS: South African selector Pat Symcox was the first
administrative casualty of South Africa’s poor World Cup campaign.
The former test cricketer quit Saturday as a selector, and the
United Cricket Board of South Africa denied he was forced out.
Selection committee chief Omar Henry said Symcox quit because of
other commitments as a TV commentator and columnist.
”I didn’t ask him to leave at all,” said Henry. ”I’m
disappointed to see him go.”
Symcox upset some within the South African cricket fraternity by
describing the bowling attack as the worst the country has produced
in 40 years.
^—
^RARE RUN OUT: Australia’s Adam Gilchrist was the 13th batsman
to be dismissed for 99 in a limited-overs international, and only
the third among those to be run-out attempting to reach triple
figures.
Coincidentally, all three have involved Sri Lanka this season
and one of the previous instances was at Centurion, venue of
Australia’s 96-run win over Sri Lanka on Friday.
Gilchrist blazed 99 off 88 balls at Centurion on Friday before
he was out off a direct hit from Chaminda Vaas as he attempted a
second run.
South Africa’s Graeme Smith was run out for 99 attempting a
single off Sri Lanka skipper Sanath Jayasuriya at Centurion last
November.
Jayasuriya was on the wrong end of the next decision. He pounded
nine fours and two sixes to reach 99 off 83 balls against England
in Adelaide, Australia on Jan. 17 before he collided mid-pitch with
teammate Kumar Sangakkara and was run out. – Sapa-AFP