Ponting laments dearth of talent on Australian bench

SYDNEY - Australia cricket captain Ricky Ponting has blamed the lack of talented players in the reserves for the team’s inability to match their previous aura of invincibility.

The Australians have been struggling for form in the recent past. The team is 1-2 down in the Ashes and have already lost the urn at home for the first time in 24 years. In the away series prior to this, Ponting and his men were blanked by India 0-2 in Tests.

“Maybe we have not got as deep a pool of talent to pick from that we have had in previous years,” Ponting was quoted as saying by the Sydney Morning Herald Thursday.

“That happens at different times. I am a big believer in the cycle. You look back 20 years or 30 years, we were one of the worst cricket nations in the world. We have not been a powerhouse of world cricket forever.

“We have to look at the structures that we used to get ourselves to where we got to being as dominant as we were for such a period of time. It is important we look at all those things and pay the ultimate attention to them and try to develop a pool of players once again so we have ready-made international players to pick from.”

Ponting said he will be doing his best to groom the youngsters in the side.

“There is a great challenge there for everyone involved in Australian cricket to do that, and I am a big part of that. I look forward to doing whatever I can do to get these young guys to develop into better international players,” he said.