Ponting could do nothing to stop Sri Lanka recording a handsome win

Australia captain Ricky Ponting has conceded the "doom and gloom" around the team will only be dispelled when they start winning again.

Australia were outplayed by Sri Lanka in the second of three one-dayers on Friday to lose their seventh straight match in all forms of the game.

"There's a lot of doom and gloom around, about this team and about Australian cricket," admitted Ponting.

Cricket Australia has decided to pull him out of the final one-dayer.

Ponting missed Wednesday's opening defeat by Sri Lanka to attend his grandmother's funeral and will also skip Sunday's match in Brisbane to return to Tasmania and prepare for a domestic Sheffield Shield match.

"As the series against Sri Lanka has been decided we have an ideal opportunity to provide Ricky with two solid weeks of red-ball cricket," said selector Greg Chappell.

"This allows him what we believe to be the best preparation to lead the Australian team in Brisbane for the first Ashes Test."

The latest alarming reverse for the Aussies comes just 20 days before the start of the Ashes series but Ponting insisted that within the team, spirits remain reasonably upbeat.

606: DEBATE Have Australia and England traded places? Think about it. The Aussies have taken up the English tradition on a number of fronts from_under_the_stands

"I think we all feel a lot more positive inside the dressing room compared to what it looks like from the outside.

"But we can change what it looks like from the outside by starting winning games, we're all very aware of that.

"That's why I'm a bit disappointed about the result. I would have thought the guys would have bounced back a bit better, but we've got another chance on Sunday."

Ponting, who has lost two Ashes series in England but led his team to a 5-0 whitewash four years ago, said he did not think the approach of the big series was behind the poor run of form.

"I don't think any of the guys are feeling under pressure or anything like that. I can't put my finger on why our performances haven't been better," he said.

"Our mood's fine but for some reason our skills are letting us down at key times."

"The Ashes are a fair way away yet and we've got to stop talking about it and thinking about it. We have to make sure that we're looking at Sunday first and foremost and turning our fortunes around there, then we worry about the next game after that."

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version