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Ricky Ponting admits he may feel a few more nerves than usual when he walks out for his 300th one-day international on Friday as Australia bid to wrap up their five-match series against the West Indies in Grenada this weekend.
Ahead 1-0 and back on top of the ICC one-day world rankings after their comprehensive 84-run victory on Tuesday, Australia will be out to claim an unbeatable 3-0 lead in the series this weekend with Grenada hosting games two and three on Friday and Sunday.
Friday’s match will see captain Ponting join former skipper Steve Waugh as Australia’s only members of the prestigious 300 club.
While not one to worry too much about his own individual playing achievements, Ponting concedes he may feel a few more butterflies than normal ahead of the game at the National Stadium.
“I remember being really nervous before my 100th Test … so maybe even on Friday I might have a few more nerves playing my 300th ODI as well,” Ponting said.
“It’s a nice achievement … because what it says is that you’ve been in the game for a long time. And obviously out of those 300 games you’ve had a lot of great memories, a lot of World Cup wins and a lot of individual game wins as well.”
Australia are again sweating on the fitness of Andrew Symonds, with the allrounder still struggling with a back strain.
Ponting said the Queenslander had been on track to play in the opening game in St Vincent, but failed to come up to scratch when he “tweaked” his back in the gym on Monday.
Wicketkeeper Brad Haddin, who has played nearly the entire tour with a broken finger, may also be in doubt after copping a few nasty knocks on the hands during the first match.
The Windies also have their injury concerns, with the in-form Shivnarine Chanderpaul absent in St Vincent with a calf problem, and opener Xavier Marshall injuring his shoulder while fielding.
After the Windies confidence-boosting Twenty20 win last Friday, Ponting claimed Australia’s emphatic victory on Tuesday may have again created uncertainty in the home side’s dressing room.
“I actually thought (the Windies) would probably have taken a little bit of confidence away from that 11-over (rain-shortened Twenty20) game the other night,” Ponting said.
“Even though it was a very short game, any win that they can have against Australia they will cherish, I’m sure.
“So I thought there might have been a bit of that hanging over in the first game and it was important for us to start the game well, and we certainly did that … and maybe now there will be a few questions asked around their group.”
Ponting said he expected the Windies to come in with a different gameplan for game two after the home side’s plan to disrupt Australia’s rhythm by shuffling their bowlers backfired on Tuesday.
Windies skipper Chris Gayle made 15 bowling changes during Australia’s innings of 8-273, using five bowlers in the first eight overs alone, while giving Fidel Edwards – the team’s strike bowler during the Test series – just three overs.
Windies coach John Dyson said his side would reassess their planning after the loss.
“We’ll have to regroup and rethink our approach and just work hard in the next couple of days to make sure we put up a better performance in the next ODI. It’s a series of five, so it’s not the end of the earth yet,” Dyson said.
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