Australia must curb their enthusiasm

Former Test captain Ricky Ponting says Australia need to temper their aggression if they are to ever be successful in the slow conditions of the subcontinent.

Australia's recent 2-0 series loss against Pakistan in the UAE stretched their losing streak in Asian conditions to six Tests, re-igniting the debate about why a team that can be so successful at home can be beaten so regularly on slow pitches overseas.

Ponting, who was a part of Australia's side that recorded a historic series win in India in 2004, their first triumph there in 35 years, says Australia need to "pull back a gear or two" from the attacking tempo that briefly catapulted them to the world No.1 ranking earlier this year.

Australia's journey to the summit, as has often been the case with successful Australian teams, was built on aggression and fast-paced cricket, led by the likes of Mitchell Johnson and David Warner.

While Johnson and Warner provided some of the rare shining lights in a disappointing series in the UAE, Ponting says the Aussies need to adopt the opposite approach when playing in Asia.

"As I learned slowly, and at times painfully over the years, Test matches in Asia seldom run to an Australian schedule," Ponting told ESPN Cricinfo.

"In many ways, the path to victory in Asia is difficult for an Australian cricketer to grasp.

"Our desire to push the game along has to be suppressed sometimes, even though we may not exactly enjoy it."

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According to Ponting, the opening day of the series provided a perfect example of how Aussie aggression can come unstuck when met with a patient opponent in Asian conditions.

After Australia had picked up two wickets inside the opening 30 minutes of the day, the home side slowly rebuilt their innings before a 80-ball century from Sarfraz Ahmed on day two propelled them to a match-winning total of 454.

Led by an innings of 106 from 223 balls from Younis Khan, Pakistan moved from 2-7 in the fourth over of the first day to be 4-219 at stumps, a run rate of 2.43 per over.

Pakistan's middle order - Azhar Ali, Younis, Misbah-ul-Haq and Asad Shafiq - all passed 50 in that innings at an average strike rate of 44.03.

While it was slow going, Ponting says Pakistan's patient batting set up the match perfectly.

"What Younis did was a classic example of following the style of cricket proven over many years on the subcontinent," he said.

"The game meanders for the first three and a half to four days and then tends to open up really late.

"What you've got to do is be in a position come tea on day three where you can still win the game, and in both of those Tests by late on day three Australia were completely out of the match.

"It's very rare that games don't last very late into day five in those conditions, and the way Australia played didn't allow them to get there."

Australia's triumph in India ten years ago, one of only two Australian series wins there, was underpinned by a rare deviation from the attacking cricket that made them the best team in the world for over a decade.

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Despite boasting a bowling attack featuring Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne and Jason Gillespie, the Aussies set defensive fields in an attempt to stifle India's boundary-hungry batsmen. 

Captain Adam Gilchrist, who led the side for the first three Tests of the series in place of the injured Ponting, regularly employed a third man and catching mid-wicket to stem the flow of boundaries and frustrate the local batsmen.

And the plan worked, with opener Virender Sehwag the only frontline Indian batsman to average over 40 for the series.

Australia also tempered their aggression with the bat, with the exception of Gilchrist, who plundered a 103-ball century in the first Test in Bangalore.

Led by Damien Martyn and Michael Clarke, who between them posted seven scores over fifty in four Tests at an average strike rate just above 50, Australia's batsmen showed a willingness to bat patiently and grind out their runs.

In contrast, Australia's two leading batsmen in their Ashes whitewash last summer, Brad Haddin and David Warner, combined for 10 scores above fifty at an average strike rate of 72.97.

Ponting says the 2004 victory provided the blueprint for Australian success on the subcontinent.

But he believes that rather than learn the lessons from the Dubai Test, Australia's selectors seemed to adopt an even more aggressive approach in the second Test by selecting big-hitting allrounder Glenn Maxwell ahead of Alex Doolan.

"A lot of what I saw was a bit frenetic, a bit fast. We didn't allow ourselves to get deep enough into those games to be in a position to try to win," Ponting said.

"It's hard work, of course. You've got to grind it out, bat for long periods of time and try to build pressure ... in short, play within yourself.

"Yet after the loss in Dubai it actually seemed as though the selectors were determined to force the pace even more by choosing the team they did."

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