SYDNEY, March 1 - Australia captain Ricky Ponting
is already looking forward to his team's final group game of
the World Cup -- a mouth-watering clash with in-form South
Africa.
The defending champions go into the tournament on a
five-match losing streak and have been knocked off the top of
the one-day rankings by the South Africans, who they play in
their final Group A game on March 24 in St. Kitts. Ponting, who
flew out of Sydney for the Caribbean with his squad on
Wednesday, acknowledged that the showdown with Graeme Smith's
side shaped as the litmus test for his out-of-form team.
"South Africa will be a big game and we've had some great
games of one-day cricket against them over the last five or six
years," he told reporters.
"In the last series over there, it came down to the last
game and we got 430 and lost."
Ponting said South Africa should be in positive mood.
"They've played some very good one-day cricket of late
against Pakistan over there, so they'll be pretty confident,"
he said.
"But I know we match up well against any other team and
that will be a good test for both teams."
The countries have had some epic World Cup battles, notably
the 1999 semi-final in England when South Africa threw away
what had looked certain victory in the last over to leave the
match tied and Australia through to the final.
Australia all-rounder Andrew Symonds is hoping to be fit to
face the South Africans after making a rapid recovery from
shoulder surgery.
"Hopefully, I'll take part in that match," he said. "I've been
trying to get a bit of strength and bulk back into the muscle
and I'm ahead of schedule, I'm really happy with how it feels
and every day I can feel it improving."
Ponting said his main concern was making sure Symonds did
not try to rush back too soon.
"The only thing that is going to be hard is restraining him
a little bit and making sure he doesn't get too far ahead of
himself and do too much too early," Ponting said.
Scotland and the Netherlands are the other two teams in
Group A.