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Ricky Ponting believes it is time to crack the whip on the Australian team in Twenty20 cricket.
While Australia are the top-ranked side in both Test and one-day internationals, their results have been mediocre in the shortest form of the game, with six wins from 12 matches in the three years since Twenty20 went international.
“That’s something we’re going to have to improve on,” Ponting said on arriving back in Sydney today after his team went down by seven wickets to the host nation in Mumbai on Saturday night.
It was Australia’s third loss in their past four 20-over games, while India, who won the inaugural Twenty20 Championship in South Africa this year, have lost only one of their nine games to date.
“When there is a World Cup in any form of the game you want to make sure that you understand the game well and you play the game well,” Ponting said.
“I don’t think there was any need for it to be taken ultra seriously before the World Cup.
“The games that were played before that were almost played as exhibition-type matches to promote other forms of the game.
“Now it’s pretty clear we’ll be playing a lot more. There’s a fair bit happening around the world with that form of the game.
“The popularity of the game in (India) is amazing … it is going massive over there.”
Australia will play two more Twenty20 internationals this summer, against New Zealand at the WACA on December 11, and against India at the MCG on February 1.
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