Ricky Ponting
The Australian captain talks the Australain top order not kicking on, the BLACKCAPS bowling effort and the pressure they were put under.
On the disappointment of the match…
“There will be some disappointed guys in our room. I think when we really needed to stand up in our batting innings and our bowling innings tonight was where we sort of fell down a little bit.
“I spoke to the guys yesterday at training about when you play in New Zealand on these small grounds and good wickets, you have never won the game and your never out of a game. I think today we probably just relaxed a bit too much. If you look at our batting, guys getting 30 and 40 is just not good enough and we need to be better than that. Guys in our top order in particular have got to go on and make big scores.
Related Links
“Even Taylor getting 70 today at a run a ball could be the difference in the game. We had all our guys at the top get 30 and 40 so that can easily be the difference in a game - especially when they are tight like this one was. “
On the BLACKCAPS performance…
“I thought that the way they bowled, after Watson and Haddin got us off to a really good start. I thought they adapted and adjusted really well, the way they bowled and the bowlers they used at different times.
“We found it hard to score through the middle overs when the ball got a bit softer and I thought hey fielded exceptionally well. Look at all the diving saves they had in the ring today. If they missed half a dozen of them it could have been a different game so full credit to New Zealand the way they played especially after Oram went down as well and left them a bowler short and left them a batter short and they still managed to scrap and get across the line.”
On the batsmen lacking patience…
“I’m not sure if its patience or just the pressure that New Zealand put on us through those middle overs. After we got off to such a great start we probably just took things for granted a little bit and expected that the run rate was going to continue to go that way and before we knew it we lost two or three wickets and all of a sudden there as the batting team back your under pressure again.
“I was out there at the time so I was feeling it as much as anybody and at different times like that you have to change your game a bit and adapt and get through. None of us did that today. So as I said give credit to New Zealand for the way they bowled in those middle overs in particular and a lot of our batsmen will be looking at themselves long and hard to make sure they are better next time.”
