We will preserve wickets : Ponting

The Aussie captain, Ponting, said that his team's strategy will be to keep wickets till the middle overs.


"Preserving wickets is going to be our strategy through the tournament. We will be looking to preserve wickets till the middle overs. That will help in negotiating spinners and accelerate during powerplays. The wicket today played real good. Luckily, we kept wickets in hand and got us to a good total." said the wily Kangaroo captain.

The wicket was slow. It was tough to get any pace on the ball. The Zimbabwean spinners bowled well and it was difficult to get going. They bowled and fielded really well."

Shane Watson, the Man of the Match yesterday, said that yesterday's match will help the team to combat spin in the coming matches.

"There will be a lot of spinners used against us. The ball did not spin as much on this wicket. This game was good practice to combat spin as the tournament progresses." said the giant all rounder.

He admitted that it took him some time to get used to the conditions.

"But it's nice to get used to different conditions and find a way ... a good time to get a bit of practice in."

Australia's Achilles heel is said to be spin, as pace is India's. Spin is also the Waterloo of South Africa. On the other hand, the subcontinental teams play spin very well, but then they have a tendency to implode !