Cricket: Ponting picks Fleming as key target

Australian captain Ricky Ponting, watched by coach John Buchanan, singles out Stephen Fleming as his target. Picture / Fotopress

Aussie skipper Ricky Ponting has wasted little time in turning up the blow-torch on his New Zealand counterpart Stephen Fleming

Barely had the Australians landed in New Zealand yesterday than Ponting was singling out Fleming for special attention, calling him the key figure in New Zealand's top-order batting line-up.

While Australian fast-bowler Glenn McGrath forgot to nominate his traditional bunny for the series, Ponting had no hesitation in marking down Fleming as a genuine threat and subsequently, a deserving target for his bowlers.

"He's at the top of the order in the one-day game and his test form over the last couple of years has been great," said Ponting.

"We always talk about trying to get a stranglehold on the opposition captain, so hopefully we can do that in this series."

Fleming was off-colour for the tests in Australia last November but has otherwise proved one of New Zealand's most productive batsman over the past 20 ODIs, scoring 748 runs at 41.55.

He was also on fire during the series against the World XI and continued in a rich vein of form in the domestic competition.

"He's played pretty well against us in Australia in a couple of test innings," Ponting said. "He's a very good player and it's up to us and our bowlers to make sure we keep him under wraps."

The World Champions and No 1 ranked ODI side in the world, Australia had few problems sweeping aside Pakistan in the finals of the VB Series, although they never really hit their straps.

Ponting said although the results might have been clear-cut, the performance was unconvincing, and the team would be looking for improvements in most areas of their game.

"We managed to win the VB Series at home but we were a long way from our best," he said. "We won it quite comfortably in the end but we didn't bat very well right through the series.

"There is a lot of improvement to come in our team, and it's probably time some of the batsmen put their hands up.

"We haven't done that of late. We understand and know New Zealand are a very good one-day side and that we'll have to play very well to achieve our targets and our goals."

The Australian captain was still unsure about the worth of Twenty20 cricket but said there was no doubt about its popularity and its ability to attract bumper crowds.

"One thing I do know is that it seems to be very good for cricket around the world," he said. "In the one game I played, we had a full house down at Taunton and the same day there was the first ever game at Lords and they had 27,000 there. It seems to be attracting different people to the game and that's why we play."