Ponting - the wicket was not good enough

Anand Vasu

September 27, 2002

After being bowled out for just 161 and losing to Sri Lanka by seven wickets in the Champions Trophy semi-final, Australian skipper Ricky Ponting was a very disappointed man.

"That was the worst performance by us for some time. The wicket turned a lot more than we expected and we were put under a lot of pressure by their spin bowlers.

"The wicket was too slow and turned too much for a one-day wicket. But we didn't play the spinners well and that was the turning point, we simply weren't good enough on the day," said the skipper.

When asked pointedly if he blamed the wicket for the defeat Ponting replied: "We were out-fielded, out-batted and out-bowled. It's as simple as that."

He added: "It was a surprise how well Aravinda de Silva bowled but they also fielded really well with two direct hits."

Talking about the fact that Australia had lost to Sri Lanka in a few one-dayers in the recent past, Ponting admitted, "They have the wood over us at the moment but we have to see how well they do when they come to Australia this summer. We had played exceptionally well in the last two games coming up to today but were not good enough on the day."

When asked whether the Australians would have been better off with off-spinner Nathan Hauritz instead of Shane Watson, Ponting said: "Hindsight is a wonderful thing. We thought there would be more life in the wicket and also believed that the Sri Lankan batsmen would play our spinners well."

He added: "If we had even 225 on the board we could have given Sri Lanka a tough game. Warnie bowled really well and would have been tough to deal with had we got a decent score on the board."

Ponting's counterpart, Sanath Jayasuriya did not quite share the view that the wicket was not a good one to play one-day cricket on.

"I don't think it was a bad wicket. It was a bit slow but that is how wickets at the Premadasa stadium are," said Jaysuriya.

Talking about the strategy of using spinners early on, Jayasuriya said: "I actually wanted to start with our spinners and in the end though Chaminda and Pulasthi could have a few overs in the start. We knew the Australians were not so good against our spinners at home"

Calling this performance, "One of our best ever," Jayasuriya reserved special praise for Aravinda de Silva. "I think we started off quite badly, letting Australia get off to such a strong start in the first five overs, but the spinners came in and bowled well. Especially Aravinda de Silva, who came in at a crucial time and changed things.

"While all the spinners bowled well, Murali, Dharmasena, Chandana... it was really Aravinda's spell that made all the difference," stressed Jayasuriya.

Having bowled the Aussies out for a low score, the Sri Lankans then knocked off the runs with care. Marvan Atapattu was steady as ever, making 51 as Sri Lanka coasted to victory with 10 overs to spare.

"We didn't want to lose any early wickets," explained Jayasuriya.

"We knew that Australia are a dangerous side and can always come back if you give them a chance. As always I wanted Marvan (Atapattu) to occupy the crease and bat out the full 50 overs," he added.

© Cricinfo

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