Hunger and desire to keep on improving is driving Australia to new heights, captain Ricky Ponting said on Monday.
The World Cup champions crushed the West Indies by eight wickets to stretch their unbeaten one-day international run to 19 matches at Sabina Park here on Sunday.
Australia skittled the West Indians out for 163 off 49 overs and cantered to victory off 35.1 overs, scoring 166 for two.
The victory opened up a 2-0 lead for Ponting’s team in the seven-game series.
No team in international one-day cricket has come close to their winning sequence, with the odds that it will reach 20 victories in the third game of the series in St Lucia on Wednesday.
”The thing with our side is it’s got just so many class players right down the list, probably more so on the bowling side,” Ponting said.
”It just comes down to having a lot of good players in the side at the moment and a lot of hungry players.
”We’ve got good, hungry players that want to keep improving every time they walk out on the field, whether that be at training or in a game, and that’s what keeps motivating us and driving us.
”There’s a lot of hard work that goes into winning that many games of cricket in a row. One day it’s going to come to an end and hopefully it’s no time soon.”
West Indies skipper Brian Lara could only agree with the dominance of the Australian team in the abbreviated form of the game.
”It’s easily the best one-day team in the world and maybe the best one-day team I’ve seen put together in my era,” Lara said.
The Australians remain unbeaten in one-day internationals since losing to Sri Lanka by 79 runs at the Sydney Cricket Ground on January 9 this year.
Since then Australia’s ODI dominance has taken in the February-March World Cup in southern Africa when they beat all-comers, culminating in their 125-run demolition of India in the final in Johannesburg on March 23.
Ponting’s team has continued winning while also playing its last 13 matches without spinner Shane Warne, who is banned until next February for taking a banned drug.
”I’d like to think it’s something that will be unbeaten for a long time,” Ponting said of the streak.
”What we’ve been able to achieve I think is outstanding.” – Sapa-AFP