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Strauss - Batsmen to blame
England skipper looks for positives following Aussie mauling
By Joe Drabble Last updated: 2nd October 2009
England captain Andrew Strauss was left to rue another batting no-show as Australia cruised into the ICC Champions Trophy final at Centurion.
After winning the toss, Strauss was one of six England batsmen to depart inside 20.2 overs, Tim Bresnan and Luke Wright restoring some respectability to the total with a spirited 107-run stand for the seventh wicket.
Nevertheless, the 257 target never looked enough - Shane Watson and Ricky Ponting subsequently amassing a record 251 partnership to steer Australia to an emphatic nine-wicket win.
Speaking straight after the defeat, Strauss said: "When you lose six wickets for 100 runs it's always going to be hard to stay in the game.
Encouraged
"All credit to Tim Bresnan and Luke Wright for making sure we weren't completely out of the game, but we needed three or four early wickets and we didn't get them.
"Shane Watson and Ricky Ponting played magnificently well and they did a thoroughly professional job on us."
Despite the crushing nature of the defeat, which was complete inside 42 overs, Strauss was encouraged by his side's displays during the competition, notably the shock victories over much-fancied Sri Lanka and hosts South Africa.
He added: "We went out and tried to be positive and unfortunately our shots didn't come off today.
"In some ways we were the architects of our own downfall but I think that method of playing is certainly better than some of the stuff we played in England (in the seven-match NatWest series against Australia).
"We can take a lot from this tournament, I think we've played some good cricket, but ultimately Australia were too strong for us today."
Ponting delight
Opposite number Ponting said of his side's performance: "It was pretty good - it was very good with the bat.
"As we saw as the night went on, the wicket was exceptional and the ground's very fast so we were pretty confident we could chase that sort of total down.
"These are the sort of games that you look forward to. These are the moments that we pride ourselves on, standing up in big games and today we've been able to do that. We can take some confidence out of doing that today, and when we go to the final on Monday as well.
"We've been talking about doing enough to get through to the semi-final and now we're through that and we're into the final so well done everybody, but now we've got a couple of days to get our heads around getting ready for the final."
On the way to his century, the 34-year-old Tasmanian became the first Australian - and only the third player, after India's Sachin Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya of Sri Lanka - to pass 12,000 runs in ODIs.
He said: "They're nice little achievements, I guess, but I'll look at them when I've finished playing.
"Dave Hussey came out tonight and said 'I wanted to tell you that you were getting close to 12,000 runs' - I had no idea. It's never been anything that motivates me, these personal stats. It's about doing a job when it matters for the team, so I'm happy I've been able to do that today."
England skipper looks for positives following Aussie mauling
By Joe Drabble Last updated: 2nd October 2009
England captain Andrew Strauss was left to rue another batting no-show as Australia cruised into the ICC Champions Trophy final at Centurion.
After winning the toss, Strauss was one of six England batsmen to depart inside 20.2 overs, Tim Bresnan and Luke Wright restoring some respectability to the total with a spirited 107-run stand for the seventh wicket.
Nevertheless, the 257 target never looked enough - Shane Watson and Ricky Ponting subsequently amassing a record 251 partnership to steer Australia to an emphatic nine-wicket win.
Speaking straight after the defeat, Strauss said: "When you lose six wickets for 100 runs it's always going to be hard to stay in the game.
Encouraged
"All credit to Tim Bresnan and Luke Wright for making sure we weren't completely out of the game, but we needed three or four early wickets and we didn't get them.
"Shane Watson and Ricky Ponting played magnificently well and they did a thoroughly professional job on us."
Despite the crushing nature of the defeat, which was complete inside 42 overs, Strauss was encouraged by his side's displays during the competition, notably the shock victories over much-fancied Sri Lanka and hosts South Africa.
He added: "We went out and tried to be positive and unfortunately our shots didn't come off today.
"In some ways we were the architects of our own downfall but I think that method of playing is certainly better than some of the stuff we played in England (in the seven-match NatWest series against Australia).
"We can take a lot from this tournament, I think we've played some good cricket, but ultimately Australia were too strong for us today."
Ponting delight
Opposite number Ponting said of his side's performance: "It was pretty good - it was very good with the bat.
"As we saw as the night went on, the wicket was exceptional and the ground's very fast so we were pretty confident we could chase that sort of total down.
"These are the sort of games that you look forward to. These are the moments that we pride ourselves on, standing up in big games and today we've been able to do that. We can take some confidence out of doing that today, and when we go to the final on Monday as well.
"We've been talking about doing enough to get through to the semi-final and now we're through that and we're into the final so well done everybody, but now we've got a couple of days to get our heads around getting ready for the final."
On the way to his century, the 34-year-old Tasmanian became the first Australian - and only the third player, after India's Sachin Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya of Sri Lanka - to pass 12,000 runs in ODIs.
He said: "They're nice little achievements, I guess, but I'll look at them when I've finished playing.
"Dave Hussey came out tonight and said 'I wanted to tell you that you were getting close to 12,000 runs' - I had no idea. It's never been anything that motivates me, these personal stats. It's about doing a job when it matters for the team, so I'm happy I've been able to do that today."