Daily Cricket News

Ponting rested for dead rubber

Australian skipper Ricky Ponting has been rested from Sunday's dead-rubber one-day international against Sri Lanka to help him prepare for the upcoming Ashes series.

Ponting made just 10 in his side's 29-run loss to the Sri Lankans at the SCG on Friday night, giving the tourists their maiden series win on Australian soil.

The rain-affected match was also Australia's seventh straight defeat in all forms of the game dating back to July.

In a worrying sign for Ponting, he was dismissed attempting to pull paceman Thisan Perera but only managed to spoon a catch to Chamara Silva in the outfield.

The hook and pull shots have been the Tasmanian's bread and butter strokes throughout his career but they have increasingly been a route to his downfall in the last 12 months, and he played it unconvincingly and off balance at the SCG.

Instead of travelling to Brisbane for Sunday's third and final ODI at the Gabba, Ponting, who also missed Wednesday night's one-wicket loss at the MCG, will now head to Tasmania to prepare for the Tigers Sheffield Shield match against Queensland.

The Shield clash at Bellerive Oval does not start until Wednesday but Australia's selectors have opted to give him plenty of time to prepare for the crucial Ashes series, which start with the first Test at the Gabba on November 25.

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

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

Michael Clarke will once again take over the captaincy, while Ponting's resting is likely to see South Australian and Ashes prospect Callum Ferguson get a chance to shine in the Australian colours.

Ponting was keeping his head up after Friday night's loss but conceded the Australians need to grab a win any way they can leading into the Ashes.

"I know it's seven straight games but it's over a long period of time in different formats," he said.

"We have to start playing the brand of cricket we know we can play and getting the winning feeling back again.

"We haven't had it for a while."

Unsurprisingly, Sri Lankan skipper Kumar Sangakkara was thrilled by the tourists' drought-breaking performance in the opening two games.

"There's a lot to be taken out of the way we played these games," he said.

"It's fantastic. We played the way we believed we could coming here.

"It was just a case of us fighting to convert every opportunity and tonight I thought it was a great all-round