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| Friday, 9 July 2004 |
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Aussie pace blitz needs gritty Lankan batting Sa'adi Thawfeeq reporting from Australia CAIRNS, Thursday - Already one-down in the short series Sri Lanka's batsmen will be up against Australia's pace trio on a fast and bouncy pitch at the Cazaly Stadium, venue of the second cricket Test starting here tomorrow. Ricky Ponting returning to lead Australia in his first Test at home has more or less subjected the Sri Lankans to defeat. He will replace Matthew Elliott who had a disastrous return to Test cricket after five years making 1 and 0 in the Darwin Test. "It's going to be tough there's no doubt about that," said Ponting. "Looking back at their home series against us Sri Lanka had some opportunities to win a couple of games and they couldn't quite do it. The conditions for this Test match are going to be perfect for us. The conditions here for fast bowlers are going to be fantastic. Someone like Glenn (McGrath) will make the most of these conditions if he lands the ball in the right area. Sri Lanka are going to find it hard to win this game." "From what happened in that first game their batsmen are going to be under pressure anyway coming into this Test match. If that is the case it is quite nice to get them in as quickly as you can and try and put more pressure on them. That certainly would be what we will be looking to do tomorrow. I am looking to bowling in the conditions here. I am not sure their batsmen will be looking forward to batting out there," said Ponting. Ponting however warned that his bowlers must guard themselves from the conditions here doing all the work for them. Compared to Wednesday when it was bright and sunny, the conditions today was windy and overcast somewhat similar to English weather which has made the toss very vital tomorrow. "Our batsmen should be able to adapt better to these conditions than the Sri Lankan batsmen. I always like to bat first in a Test match if you can. That obviously is if conditions suggest that you should bowl then that certainly will come into consideration in the morning," he said. Ponting will be facing Malinga for the first time. He said: "I have spoken to Maddy (Matthew Hayden) and Justin (Langer) and a few other guys. They have all seen the way he bowls. He bowls with a low arm slinging action that the sightscreen has to be moved behind the umpire. "I was asking the guys the other day and they said as long as you look at the umpire's chest you could pick up the ball. I've got a bit of work to do on the video this afternoon and have a good look at him. He bowled well in Darwin. He bowled quick and used the short ball well. There's no doubt with the extra pace and bounce here he will enjoy these conditions," said Ponting. The sudden changes in the weather pattern have created doubts in the minds Sri Lankan camp on the composition of their team. "We will wait for the last moment tomorrow before deciding on our team," said Sri Lanka captain Marvan Atapattu. "One of the options we have is to play a specialist wicket keeper. All the fast bowlers are in contention. The conditions today are different from yesterday so we will have to wait till tomorrow." "We have been let down by our batsmen," bemoaned Atapattu who is one of the top four batsmen who is badly in need of runs. He was dismissed for 4 and 10 at Darwin. "The bowlers did a brilliant job. Even without Murali (Muralitharan) we got them out for around 200 twice. You can't ask anything more from them. It is the batsmen who should contribute." "We are experienced enough to understand that what has happened is in the past. We must only look at the future. We are all mature enough to put those things behind and start afresh every time. We would obviously like to have a win," he said. The teams: SRI LANKA (from): Marvan Atapattu (captain), Sanath Jayasuriya, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Tilan Samaraweera, Russell Arnold, Romesh Kaluwitharana, Chaminda Vaas, Nuwan Zoysa, Lasith Malinga, Dilhara Fernando, Upul Chandana, Rangana Herath. AUSTRALIA (from): Ricky Ponting (captain), Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer, Damien Martyn, Darren Lehmann, Simon Katich, Adam Gilchrist, Shane Warne, Jason Gillespie, Michael Kasprowicz, Glenn McGrath, Shaun Tait, Stuart MacGill. UMPIRES: Billy Bowden (New Zealand) and Alim Dar (Pakistan), TV umpire: Steve Davis (Australia), Match Referee: Chris Broad (England). |
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