Ricky Ponting, former Australia captain, has defended the decision of his former team in resting key players in the third and final ODI against Pakistan ahead of the crucial Test series against India. Australia were tied at 1-1 in the three-match ODI series before losing the series decider by eight wickets in the absence of Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, and Josh Hazlewood.
It was the first series defeat for Australia on Australian soil in 22 years to Pakistan. Ponting conceded that keeping the Test players fresh was of prime importance for the all-important five-Test Border-Gavaskar Trophy, starting on November 22 in Perth.
"Looking back at it, it must have been something that was decided a long way out because with a series being 1-1, Australian cricket teams don't like losing," said Ponting on the ICC Review. "The Australian public doesn't like to see their team lose, and I think that's been highlighted over the last few days."
Before this ODI series victory, Pakistan had last won the ODI series on Australian soil back in 2002. Over the last decade and a half, they have played 10 ODIs over the course of two tours- (2009/10 & 2016/17)and could win only one game. Hence, the big question surrounding the decision to send away most of the main players from this series to have played with such a long gap between the last ODI and the first Test game.
"The thing that the public probably found most frustrating was how big that gap was between the third one-dayer and the first Test," said Ponting. "But the other side to look at it is that these boys have now got to get through five straight Test matches in quite a short, compressed amount of time," said Ponting. "And certainly, for the fast bowlers, that's never an easy thing to do.".
"So I am sure the plan was to give those guys that break ensures them of getting through to the end of the Test series a little bit fresher and healthier than they might have been if they had to travel to Perth and play that one-day game."
Ponting pointed out that rest alone may not even serve as a good remedy for the attrition that has been inflicted on body and mind in an extended Test series. He cited India's last visit to Australia and recalled how they fought their way to winning the Border-Gavaskar Trophy despite battling through the tour with numerous injuries.
"We saw last time that India were here, they were batting more than Australia," he said. "They had all sorts of injuries on the way through and still found a way to get up and win. "They (Australia) lost that (ODIs vs Pakistan) series, the first time they lost a series to Pakistan in Australia for 22 years. And now they've got to turn up ready to play that first Test match and look to find ways to win the series."
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