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Ricky Ponting admits Australia’s days of demolishing opposition in Test cricket may be over after his new-look side completed a hard-fought 2-0 series victory over the West Indies today.
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Ponting’s world champions overcame a defiant Windies by 87 runs in the third Test at Kensington Oval, with young spinner Beau Casson capping a fine debut with 3-86.
As with the first two Tests, Australia were pushed to five days in Barbados, and only claimed victory in the shadows of tea after the eighth-ranked Windies scored a ground-best 387 in the fourth inning chasing a world record 475 for victory.
Ponting expressed great satisfaction with his side’s victory in the Caribbean – Australia’s first Test tour in two years and the first since the mass retirements of Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Adam Gilchrist and co.
But after conceding his side’s bowling attack had come back to the pack following the drawn second Test, he today admitted Australia’s path to victories in the future would be focused more on grinding down opposition, then blowing teams off the park.
“We’re probably not demolishing sides like we might have two years ago, but we’re grinding teams down and winning Test matches, and we’re doing it well,” Ponting said.
“I’m really happy with where we’re at at the moment.
“Everyone’s been talking about this transition phase that our team’s been going through – and it’s right, we are going through that sort of transition, we’ve lost six or seven players in the last 12 months – but what we haven’t done is we haven’t lost a Test series.
“We’re still beating teams, we’re still winning Test matches and winning series.
“That’s a really pleasing thing for me and the rest of the guys going forward.”
Dwayne Bravo (69) and Shivnarine Chanderpaul (50) gave the small, but vocal, crowd in Bridgetown hope of a miracle victory after piling on 122 runs for the fourth wicket to have the Windies at 3-303.
Ponting, though, insisted his team always felt in control, with Casson eventually providing the key breakthrough just 15 minutes before lunch, showing great character to bounce back from being belted for three sixes off Bravo to dismiss the allrounder.
As with Casson’s first Test wicket late on day four, it came via a great catch from Phil Jaques in close, with Stuart Clark (3-58) all-but securing victory four balls later with the crucial wicket of man-of-the-series Chanderpaul.
“I thought right from the start of the day today that we just needed to get that initial breakthrough,” said Ponting.
“When you’re in a situation like that in a Test match, you’ve just got to really patient.
“It was a patience game for us this morning … I think the West Indies probably felt they were half a chance of being able to win the game with Bravo and Chanderpaul going well.
“But Beau bounced back and got the breakthrough. And from there I thought we managed things pretty well. It was just that one initial breakthrough that we’ve been after.”
Simon Katich earned man of the match honours for his second-innings 157, with Chanderpaul a standout choice for man of the series, despite his side’s defeat.
The veteran Windies left-hander scored two centuries and three fifties this series, amassing 422 runs at the incredible average of 147.33.
He also joined Brian Lara, Sir Vivian Richards and Sir Garfield Sobers as the fourth player from the region to pass 8,000 runs today.
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