Australia want to focus on India before Ashes: Ponting
Australian captain Ricky Ponting has said that the team will need to stop focussing only on the Ashes given that they play India in a two-Test match series in India. Australia had lost the four game series in India in 2008, 2-0 and will look to avenge that defeat and win back the Border-Gavaskar trophy.
Speaking to the media, Ponting said that it was difficult to not allow the focus to remain on the Ashes. Ponting said that while he acknowledged that the Ashes was what was on everyone’s mind already, there was a matter of two Tests and three ODIs against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758, before the Ashes.
Ponting said, “Most of the guys have toured there before and not had success at Test level. Hopefully we can upstage the No. 1 team.”
Ponting said that he was looking at getting the better of the number one team in their own den, which has not been the easiest to do in recent times for teams. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 has won only one Test series in India since 1969.
Ponting also added that the performance of the team was to be judged based on how they played against the top-ranked team in the world in their own backyard. He also acknowledged that there were a few Indian players that “have got under our skin a little bit” and that the side would be looking forward to that battle.
Going back to the Ashes, Ponting said that the 5-0 statement was not exactly a prediction but a statement of intent from the players who think that they want to win each and every game that they play in. In the last Ashes, Australia had lost 2-1, before beating Pakistan 3-0, West Indies 2-0, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/West-Indies-c760, Ponting said, “Going through the home summer undefeated last year was a great achievement by the team, but we will be better than that in the coming months”
The biggest problem that the Aussies seem to be facing is with the fitness of some of their key players like Peter Siddle, Brad Haddin and Nathan Hauritz. However, all are expected to be fit by the time the Ashes is around the corner and the side will look to make the most of that.
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