LONDON, 8 September 2004 — Australian captain Ricky Ponting is hoping to land the first leg of a historic double when the ICC Champions Trophy starts here in England on Friday.
Australia have never won the tournament, which has been played three times since 1998, something Ponting aims to put right over the next two-and-a-half weeks.
Then he takes his men to India, where Australia have not won since 1969/70, for an eagerly-awaited, four-match Test series which Ponting says “could go down as one of the biggest ever played.”
Steve Waugh was the last Australian captain to try and conquer what he called the ‘last frontier’ when he led his team to the subcontinent in 2000/01 only to lose a pulsating series 2-1.
Ponting said: “It is going to be a huge series. The last series in India was the best one I’ve played in and we should have won. The last Test went to late on the last day and we lost.
“But we have the got the side and the players to do well. We have played very well on the subcontinent in the last couple of years we have come a long way and are a better team now playing in those conditions.
“Our result in Sri Lanka, where we won 3-0, was outstanding. I think that was the first time that had been achieved by a touring side and that gives us a lot of confidence.”
Before that potentially historic series Ponting is determined to land the one major honor to elude the Australians. “We are pretty disappointed with the way we have played in the Champions Trophy,” he said. “In the first two years we lost in the first round to India and we made the semifinal last time but got beaten by Sri Lanka.
“This is the second biggest one-day tournament and whilst we have managed to win the last couple of World Cups it would be nice to win the Champions Trophy as well and if we perform our skills well we should be in the mix.”
Australia’s biggest problem would seem to be the make-up of their bowling attack with Brett Lee, Jason Gillespie, Michael Kasprowicz and Glenn McGrath competing for just three places.
“We can only play three of those at one time,” Ponting said. “There are going to be some tough selections and one of them will miss out. You can’t play them all so you’ve just got to make a tough pick.”
Time the Key for India, Says Laxman
India batsman Venkatsai Laxman insisted the team could put their 2-1 One-Day series defeat by England behind them and be a force to be reckoned with in the ICC Champions Trophy.
‘The mini World Cup’ gets under way with India, the co-holders after the 2002 final against Sri Lanka in Colombo was washed out, playing their first match of the competition against Kenya - a repeat of last year’s World Cup semifinal — at the Hampshire Rose Bowl on Saturday.
But despite the morale-boosting 23-run win against England at Lord’s, India were still bowled out for 204, the latest instance of their powerful batting line-up failing to fire en masse. “It’s just a matter of spending more time in the middle and converting those 30s into big ones,” Laxman told reporters.
“We are not clicking as a unit. Even as a team, the batting has let us down. People are not able to convert those starts into big ones.”
India face arch-rivals Pakistan at Edgbaston on Sept. 19 in front of what will be a capacity crowd after the game was sold out within hours of tickets going on sale. Both teams will be assured of tremendous support in what is set to be one of the ties of the tournament.
England’s Gough Slams Critics
Fast bowler Darren Gough has rounded on all those who queried whether he should still be playing top-flight cricket after becoming the first Englishman to take 200 One-Day International wickets.
Gough, 34, a Yorkshire hero but now in his first season with Essex, became the 19th bowler in history to reach the 200-mark when he had India’s Harbhajan Singh caught by England captain Michael Vaughan.
That match was Gough’s 134th One-Day International, making him easily the most experienced member of hosts England’s attack in the forthcoming ICC Champions Trophy which starts later this week.
But when he retired from Test match cricket last year, having taken 229 wickets in 58 matches, because of persistent knee trouble, many believed his desire to keep playing One-Day Internationals was simply holding up the progress of younger England bowlers.
And they also questioned whether his fitness would allow him to fulfill his dream of playing at the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies.
Gough gave his detractors further ammunition by taking just six wickets in 10 One-Day Internationals this year before Sunday’s match, a poor return for a new-ball bowler.
But the veteran quick has never lacked confidence in his own ability and, speaking ahead of England’s Champions Trophy opener against Zimbabwe at Edgbaston on Friday, Gough insisted outsiders would have no say in when he retired.
“I have heard people say this might be the natural end. It is not for the media to decide when I retire, it is my decision, the captain’s decision, the selectors’ decision.
“I love proving people wrong. I think I deserve the opportunity if I can keep my fitness up,” added Gough who was angered by his omission from England’s One-Day squad for the last (northern) winter tour of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
“I wouldn’t be in this team if I wasn’t bowling well. The selectors have come and watched me four or five times and I have been bowling well.
“I am in the side for my experience. Bowling at the start and end of an innings is the hardest job in world cricket and there are not many bowlers who can do it well.”
Gough, reflecting on his 200 One-Day International wickets, added: “I am a proud man and to be the first Englishman to do anything is a very proud moment. It ranks up there as one of the special moments of my career.
