Navi mumbai nuggets

Ricky Ponting was in a good mood yesterday which is natural to expect of a captain who has achieved the incredible by beating India at home without nine of his first-string players.

Ricky Ponting prevents a walk-out
Ricky Ponting was in a good mood yesterday which is natural to expect of a captain who has achieved the incredible by beating India at home without nine of his first-string players. He was in a jovial mood at the press conference. In spite of Australian team's media manager Lachy Patterson's request to switch off all mobile phones, a local journo attended to his phone. Patterson was livid and threatened to walk out but Ponting calmed him down, saying, "must be his wife (on the line)".

Aussie vice-captain Mike Hussey (pads on) helps out a support staff member in carrying the drinks during nets in Navi Mumbai yesterday. PIC/ATUL KAMBLE

More on Ponting: The Australian skipper is believed to have met Kolkata Knight Riders' co-owner Shah Rukh Khan over his availability for the Indian Premier League team. It is learnt that Ponting has assured King Khan that he will be part of his team after the first four games. The Australia vs New Zealand coincides with the first phase of the IPL. Hence, KKR will miss Brendon McCullum too for a few games.

50-over cricket is alive and well
After the recent success of Twenty20 cricket, there were a lot of voices calling for the scrapping of 50-50 cricket before the start of the current India-Australia series. The thrilling matches in the series have sure been a shot in the arm for the 50-over format. Ricky Ponting, one guy who hasn't really enjoyed great success in T20 cricket, is quite happy to bat for ODI cricket. "This series has gone on to show that one-day cricket is alive and well. It was amazing to see the kind of messages I received from back home in Australia after the Hyderabad game. Many said it was the best one-day game they have seen. That amount of runs scored and Sachin (Tendulkar) doing what he did on the day and Shane Watson and Shaun Marsh doing what they did was great," said Ponting yesterday.

"The Champions Trophy and the current series have been great. As far as Twenty20 cricket is going to take over world cricket, I think one-day cricket can stand out for itself at the moment," added the Australia skipper.
Kirsten, Upton shop around
The security issue did not stop India coach Gary Kirsten and Paddy Upton from strolling down to the mall adjacent to the Four Point Sheraton hotel yesterday. Dressed in jeans and t-shirts, the duo walked through the crowded food court without any hassles. Except for a couple of comments, ('woh, hamara coach ja raha hai'), Kirsten and Upton were undisturbed.

Over to the drainage system
Officials at the Dr DY Patil Stadium had an anxious day yesterday. Unseasonal rains disrupted their preparations for their debut ODI.

It rained continuously since afternoon but the heartening part is that they have a very good drainage system. "Our drainage system is quite good and we can start the game within half an hour of the sun coming out," boasted one official.

Looks like the DY Patil Stadium facilities will be tested to the full in their first big game itself.