With less than two months to go for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in UAE and Oman, preparations are already in progress for the international teams.
Recently, Australia toured West Indies and Bangladesh for a five-match T20I series and suffered 4-1 defeats in both countries.
Last month, Australia had also named a 15-member squad for the showpiece tournament, scheduled to be played from October 17 to November 14.
Weighing in on the squad, batting legend Ricky Ponting on Friday (September 3) said lack of finishers with the bat could prove to be the weak link for Australia.
According to Ponting, all batsmen in the squad are top-order batsmen and bat at the same position for their Big Bash League clubs as well.
"All the batters in our T20 team bat one, two or three for their Big Bash teams and inevitably they become the leading runs scorers at the end of every Big Bash so they get picked for Australia. But [among those] who bat at five or six for their Big Bash team every game, who's in the current Australian team? There's no one," said Ponting on 'Breakfast with Gilly and Goss' show at SEN Perth.
"If I think, of the best finishers I've seen -- Kieron Pollard, M.S. Dhoni, Hardik Pandya -- where have they batted their whole lives in the T20 game? In those slots, so that's just their game. But we just don't have many of those guys who are dominating the back of Big Bash games where you can say 'right, you're going to be listed to bat at number six today and if you get 15 balls we know you'll get 30'. So, again, that will potentially be our Achilles' heel," he added.
Aaron Finch will lead Australia in the upcoming T20 World Cup. The squad also features seasoned names such as Steve Smith, David Warner, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis and Pat Cummins.
Ponting, who has led Australia to two ODI World Cup wins, said all-rounder Stoinis could play the role of a late-order hitter.
"The more I got to know him, he's a very deep thinker and I was not wanting to feed him too much (information). I'd feed him little bits but then let him think about it and process it and come back to me and ask questions about what he needs to do next, or what he needs to do to get better," he stated
"With Australia he's been in and out of the side, and not really found a spot in the batting line-up. I've tried to make it pretty clear to him where I see him slotting in with the Delhi Capitals outfit and the certain role he's going to play for us."
"He is a hard worker. He likes to bat and bowl as much as an anyone we've had at Delhi. So as long as I give some clear direction and he understands what he's doing and what his role is, I just let him go about getting himself prepared. I'll only interfere with players' preparation if I think they're bludging and they're not doing the right thing. It's fair to say he does enjoy working under the way that I coach," concluded Ponting.
(With IANS inputs)
