Cup win will pull Ponting out of Steve Waugh's shadow
Saturday, February 8 2003 19:05 Hrs (IST)

Johannesburg: Ricky Ponting, who took over the mantle of leading the mighty Australian One-day side a year ago, feels nothing less than a World Cup win would support the credentials of a man who took charge from the legendary Steve Waugh.

"There's going to be more expectation on us this time than any other time," Ponting said. "It's a huge tournament and it would be great if we could win it, but there's a lot of hard work first."

While the burden of trying to repeat their earlier successes could weigh down some teams, Ponting said Australia's victory in 1999 World Cup has given them added confidence and a psychological edge over their rivals.

"We've got a very, very good team and we can sometimes have an aura about us so that other teams find it hard to play their best against us," said Ponting who, at 28, is the youngest captain among the main contenders to win the coveted title.

"We've got the players here who've been through tough games in World Cups and know how to win a World Cup so all those things add up."

Australia will start its campaign with the match against Pakistan on February 11. Ponting said though his leadership style has been strongly influenced by Waugh, he is now starting to impose his own character on the team.

"I think you learn a little bit from every captain you play under... so I probably think my captaincy style is a mix of all of those guys put together. It's been over 12 months so hopefully there's a bit of a stamp on the team now. If there wasn't, I would be a bit concerned.

"Things are going well, the team is playing good cricket and seems to have responded well to me taking over as captain. I've always felt pretty confident. Even before I was made captain I always tried to think as a captain out on the field so nothing's really changed a lot there."

A keen follower of greyhound racing, Ponting is not frightened to gamble on the cricket field, but thinks the most important area for improvement is Australia's consistency.

"We're very aggressive players and that is almost a gamble sometimes when you play that way, but I don't think I leave too many stones unturned with a lot of things."

Ponting's leadership qualities received a boost when fast bowler Jason Gillespie said he had the makings of a great leader. "He's definitely got what it takes, he's a real natural," Gillespie said about his captain.

PTI

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