Melbourne, Feb 7: Australian skipper Ricky Ponting has backed his fast bowlers to contain West Indies captain Chris Gayle and his team in the one-day series starting at the MCG from Sunday.

Ponting also claimed to have assembled the best fast-bowling group in the world after the West Indies captain coolly tipped his team to thump Australia in the series.

Gayle has predicted said that the West Indies would win the series 4-1 despite Australia taking a stranglehold on the 50-over format in recent months and the Calypso outfit being weakened by injuries to experienced players.

Sydney, Jan 2 : Australian captain Ricky Ponting has warned his side against underestimating the unpredictable Pakistan team in the second cricket Test beginning here Sunday.

Australia won the first Test at Melbourne by a convincing 170-run margin, but Ponting knows that Pakistan have the talent to turn the tables on the hosts.

"Teams are probably at their most dangerous when they've come off a heavy loss like last week," Ponting said Saturday. "The challenge for us is to not get carried away with what we've done."

Sydney, Jan 1 : Australia cricket captain Ricky Ponting is happy with the way his spinners, especially Nathan Hauritz and newcomer Steve Smith, are improving.

Ponting's comments come a month after he raised his concerns over the dearth of good slow bowlers in the country.

"I'm very happy with the way our spin bowling stocks are looking at the moment," Ponting was quoted as saying by the Sydney Morning Herald.

Melbourne, Dec 25 : Australian captain Ricky Ponting Friday said he would be fit in time for the Boxing Day Test against Pakistan starting here Saturday.

Ponting suffered a nasty hit on his elbow off Kemar Roach's bowling during the Perth Test against the West Indies.

On Christmas Day, he faced teammates Peter Siddle and Doug Bollinger during a gruelling net session at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) and said that he has a 'strong chance' to play.

Melbourne, Dec. 25 : Australian captain Ricky Ponting is wary of the ‘young’ Pakistani team, and has described the visitors as a much better side than the West Indies.

Ponting said he expects the Pakistani players to fight hard during the series, adding that the team has ‘boundless talent’.

Melbourne, Dec. 25 : Australian captain Ricky Ponting has said that he is quite confident about playing against Pakistan in the first Test at the MCG, starting tomorrow.

"I went well today actually, I went better today than yesterday. I had a bit of pain in the nets yesterday. I was always going to bat two days into the game. I''m really confident that I can play the game," the Daily Telegraph quoted Ponting, as saying.

New South Wale''s Phillip Hughes will stay with the team as standby until the match starts on Boxing Day.

Brisbane, Nov. 29 : Captain Ricky Ponting has promised to maintain Australia''s aggression against the West Indies in the team’s quest to climb back to the top of the ICC Test world rankings.

The Australian team’s belligerent approach was a feature of its victory by an innings and 65 runs in the opening Gabba Test.

Sydney, Nov 28 : Australian batsman Marcus North has said that the team has its share of ‘bling boys’, but he is happy to work in the shadows and be a dependable batsman.

North may not have set pulses racing at the Gabba with his 79 runs, but halfway through his eighth Test he has scored 648 runs at an average of 54, including three centuries, a Test record to be proud of.

“I think, we have other players who can play that role and I just try and be someone Ricky Ponting can rely on,” Fox Sports quoted North, as saying.

Brisbane, Nov. 25 : Australian captain Ricky Ponting has confirmed that off-spinner Nathan Hauritz will be a part of the first Test squad taking on the West Indies at the Gabba in Brisbane on Thursday.

Pacer Doug Bollinger will be the 12th man, while the other quicks featuring in the team would be Mitchell Johnson, Peter Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

Australian team: Ricky Ponting (c), Shane Watson, Simon Katich, Michael Hussey, Michael Clarke, Marcus North, Brad Haddin, Michael Johnson, Nathan Hauritz, Peter Siddle, Ben Hilfenhaus.
12th man: Doug Bollinger.

Brisbane (Australia), Nov. 23 : Australian cricket captain Ricky Ponting has revealed he has two tricky dilemmas ahead of the first Test against West Indies -- whether to throw Mitchell Johnson the new ball and how much to bowl Shane Watson.

According to Fox Sports, Johnson and Watson return to the Gabba as key men in the Test team, but still with doubts over how they can best utilise their talent.

Mumbai, Nov. 12 : Australian skipper Ricky Ponting rates Shane Watson as cricket''s gun all-rounder.

Ponting predicted that Watson, being sound in body and having peace of mind, would be enshrined as the game''s next crack all-rounder.

"The extended run he has had injury-free means he is starting to show everybody what a few us believed he was going to be able to achieve at international level," the Daily Telegraph quoted Ponting, as saying.

Sydney, Nov 7 : Australian skipper Ricky Ponting hopes that luck will continue to favour him against dangerous Virender Sehwag, who has not been so successful in the ongoing seven match series so far.

Australia have escaped lightly in their dealings with Sehwag so far this series, and captain Ricky Ponting is hoping to claim an unbeatable 4-2 lead at Guwahati.

In each of the five matches played on the tour, Sehwag has scored 13 (11 balls), 40 (31), 11 (25), 30 (19) and 38 (30).

Melbourne, Nov 7 : Skipper Ricky Ponting asked his team to be brave and face the might of Sachin Tendulkar and India in the nail biting fifth ODI at Hyderabad, which Australia won by three runs.

An emotional pre-match talk from Ponting was the catalyst for a remarkable match as the Australians overcame an extraordinary 175 from Tendulkar to win by three runs.

Hyderabad, Nov. 5 : Australian cricket skipper Ricky Ponting has said that if the current squad came away with a series win against India despite the string of injuries, it would simply be an ''''amazing effort'''' on the part of the boys.

“If you consider everything that''s happened to us over the last couple of weeks, it would be an amazing effort if this group of players were good enough to get over the line,'''' The Age quoted Ponting, as saying.

Mohali, Nov 3 : Australia have been fined for slow over rate during the fourth One-day international against India.

Australian captain Ricky Ponting was fined 20 percent of his match fee while his players were docked 10 percent. Australia defeated India by 24 runs at the Punjab Cricket Association stadium here Monday.

Match referee Chris Broad imposed the fine after Ponting's side was ruled to be two overs short of its target at the end of the match.

Mohali, Nov 2 : Australian skipper Ricky Ponting's decision to open the batting in the third ODI of the seven game series against India may develop into something more lasting.

Ponting has indicated that he would maintain the spot for the rest of the series, starting with the fourth game in Mohali.

Melbourne, Nov 2 : Australian skipper Ricky Ponting has backed Brett Lee’s bid to beat his injury and come back into Test contention, but the fast bowler’s friends Damien Fleming and Michael Kasprowicz have warned the veteran’s future should be decided purely on performance and not on reputation.

Australia will play the Test series opener against the West Indies at the Gabba starting on November 26.

New Delhi, Oct 30 : After their crushing victory at Nagpur, India will be looking to forge ahead in the seven-match One-Day cricket series against Australia when the two meet in the third game, a day-night affair, at Ferozeshah Kotla here Saturday.

The series is nicely poised 1-1, the visitors winning the opener by four runs in Vadodara and the hosts taking the second by 99 runs.

New Delhi, Oct 30 : Ahead of Saturday’s third ODI against India, Australia skipper Ricky Ponting on Friday accused the groundsmen at Ferozshah stadium of hampering their morning practice session by watering the pitch.

“I was disappointed when I had a look at the practice wicket which was watered this morning. Everyone in the world except the groundsmen knew that we were coming for training and when we came it was completely unusable. By the time India will arrive, the wicket will be fine and it''s a disadvantage for us,” Ponting said.

Sydney, Oct 30 : To regain lost glory by winning back the Ashes, Cricket Australia selectors should select Ricky Ponting along with entire New South Wales team, according to leading Australian daily.

The New South Wales team has proved themselves as the dominant provincial side in the world, let alone Australia, so the selectors might pick the Test side with 10 players from Blues plus captain Ricky Ponting, who lives in Sydney.