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Australia’s lone batting force Mike Hussey insists the weight of personal and collective failure in the Ashes series is not affecting the performance of captain Ricky Ponting.
For the third time in four innings Ponting (12) was dismissed without making a decent contribution, this time slicing Jimmy Anderson wide of third slip where Paul Collingwood held a stupendous catch to further heighten the pressure on the Australian skipper.
Ponting’s innings was aggressive from the outset, perhaps too much so, as a pacy Perth pitch demanded judicious choices as to which balls to play and which to leave.
But Hussey denied Ponting was operating under a cloud.
“I don’t think so, that’s the thing I admire so much about Ricky, whether he’s going well or the team’s going well or not well, he’s just such a consistent character,” Hussey said.
“And what I do know is if people doubt or critics count against such a champion they generally come back and show the critics to be wrong.
“I’ve no doubt it’s going to be the same this occasion, Ricky’s such a champion batsman, champion bloke and a champion captain I’m sure he’ll be fine.”
Hussey also reckoned the other batsmen in the team were not playing badly, simply getting out.
“I’ve been watching all the other guys really closely and they’ve been batting really well, preparing very well and sometimes you just need that little bit of luck,” he said.
“A couple of times they’ve come in when the ball has been doing a little bit and if things don’t go your way you can find yourself walking back to the pavilion.
“I know it’s the same for them, they’re all class players and if they keep trusting their games and backing themselves I have no doubt they’ll be absolutely fine and score plenty of runs in the near future.”
Wicketkeeper Brad Haddin, the only other Australian to have any sort of impact on the series with the bat, had earlier presented his support to Ponting, and credited him with lifting the team out of a sad state following the Adelaide Test defeat.
“One of the major factors behind our confidence is the attitude and belief of our captain Ricky Ponting,” Haddin wrote on his blog.
“Ricky has been incredible in my time with the Australian team and no more than during this current series.
“While the unwarranted pressure grows from the outside regarding his captaincy and position in this side, he has been an inspiration to us all with his ability to block all of this out, continuing his help around the team and refusing to be affected by what is being said.”
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