Ponting keeps faith in Lee by CricketArchive Staff Reporter

---

Player:	RT Ponting, B Lee, DA Warner, SR Watson
Event:	ICC World Twenty20 2009

---

DateLine: 8th June 2009

 

Australia skipper Ricky Ponting said he is satisfied with Brett Lee's progress despite the pacer’s poor show against the West Indies.

 

Lee, in his second international outing since undergoing ankle surgery, was smashed for 56 runs from four overs, West Indies skipper Chris Gayle really going after the fast bowler.

 

The fast bowler took just one wicket, that of Gayle, but by then the hard-hitting left-hander had blasted a whirlwind 88. In fact Gayle took 26 off one Lee over.

 

Commentating for BBC, former Australian paceman Geoff Lawson said that Lee's inability to swing the ball was reminiscent of his listless performance in last summer's Test series against South Africa.

 

But skipper Ponting backed the leader of his pace attack, saying he saw enough during the practice matches last week to be encouraged.

 

"He obviously got taken down a little bit but I don't think it mattered who was bowling to Chris in the sort of mood he was in," he said. "I'm happy with the way he's coming along."

 

Ponting was also pretty happy with Shane Watson's form. The bowler bowled his first overs in a match since hurting his back last summer. He conceded 13 runs from two overs and was raking up good speed.

 

"He got through pretty well I thought," Ponting said.

 

"He'll just get better and better the more overs he gets under his belt. The more he bowls to better players as well he'll benefit from that a lot. He gives us great flexibility."

 

Ponting was also fulsome in praise for opener David Warner and said that the left-hander made maximum use of the opportunity that came his way with the ouster of Andrew Symonds.

 

"We were looking at doing some slightly different things with our team in this game if Symmo had have been in the middle order there," he said.

 

"But he wasn't so it was good for David that chance at the top of the order to score and I think he showed everybody just how good he can be in this form of the game."