Arthur says Ponting a bit jaded; Ponting thinks he still deserves a place in the team

Australia coach Mickey Arthur seems to be perturbed by Australia’s consecutive losses in the Commonwealth Bank Series against Sri Lanka and India, say the newspapers reports. Warning the team and its stand-in captain Ricky Ponting of facing consequences, Arthur asked them to come up with improved performance against their next match against India. "If I have to be totally honest, Ricky is a little bit jaded...and last night was a bit of unacceptable," remarked Arthur as he took stock of two successive defeats against India and Sri Lanka in the one-day series here, says a report in The Tribune.

“I'd like to see Ponting in our team all the time but as I've said through the summer, every cricketer's currency is performance, that's what gets you into the Australian team. A character like Ponting is someone you want around the team all the time because he's so inspirational, he's still our fittest player and hardest trainer. He trains with the most intensity, he's a fantastic example to every guy who comes into the team," he said, adding that Ponting is a class act, there is no way you can write off a champion like him.

Meanwhile, according to newspapers reports, Ricky Ponting has said that he still deserves a place in the side but concedes that reputation alone won't be enough to get him the selectors' nod all the time. “I think I am worth a place in the team but you'd better ask the selectors what they think about that," Ponting said, adding, “My last four games have not been what they would have liked but I guess if the selectors were thinking that way already then they probably wouldn't have picked me for the start of the series. There are still a few senior players around the side and they (the selectors) made it clear to the younger guys at the start of the summer that it was vital they have a little bit of experience around them."

Sourav ganguly in his column in Hindustan Times writes that  Sri Lanka's bonus-point victory over Australia at Sydney has thrown open the tri-series, and the game from now on will be crucial. “Based on current situation and form, India should walk out confident in Brisbane. India's bowling and fielding is getting sharper by the day. But their problem lies batting. They are playing at the Gabba for the first time and will have to get used to the bounce quickly. Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli and Dhoni have been amongst runs but the remaining batters need to fire. If the rotation policy is to be given proper effect, then Manoj Tiwary should get a game at Brisbane. He has waited in the wings for long. He should carry with him the confidence of the hundred he scored in his last outing against the West Indies,” writes Ganguly.

Despite scoring a hundred in his last appearance for India (104 against the West Indies in Chennai, just over two months ago) Manoj Tiwary will probably have to wait longer for his comeback. According to The Telegraph, currently in Brisbane, Tiwary isn’t in the team management’s thoughts for Sunday’s tri-series face-off versus Australia at The Gabba. Word is that Tiwary will “almost surely” play on Tuesday, against Sri Lanka. “The mood is to continue with both Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma, even though they haven’t done anything at all in the first four matches... The team management’s thinking is unlikely to change overnight,” the source said on Saturday evening.