Blueprint to target captain Ricky Ponting

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CHRIS Gayle claimed last night that every fast bowler in the world now had a clear blueprint on how to exploit Ricky Ponting's "major weakness" against the short ball. More... Gayle's blueprint to dismiss Ponting By Ben Dorries December 21, 2009 11:00pm CHRIS Gayle claimed last night that every fast bowler in the world now had a clear blueprint on how to exploit Ricky Ponting's "major weakness" against the short ball. As hopes rose that Ponting would be fit to play in the Boxing Day Test against Pakistan, the West Indian skipper insisted his side had exposed a gaping chink in the Australian skipper's armour. Firebrand Kemar Roach, 21, dismissed Ponting three times in the three-Test series and also forced him to retire hurt for the first time in his career when he smashed the skipper's left elbow. Ponting turned 35 last weekend and Gayle, 30, believes he has given the world a successful strategy for ruining the twilight years of his career with a blood-and-thunder bumper war. "One thing that I think we have exposed in this series is Ricky Ponting's problems against the short ball," Gayle writes in his exclusive News Ltd column on page 69. "Our plan to bowl short at him worked really well and I think they are tactics that other Test teams can use with a lot of success against him. "Ricky is a person who will always hook and pull. Those are some of his favourite shots but they can also be his major weakness. "If you have a bowler with a bit of pace I think you can give him some real trouble. "Other teams should study the way Kemar Roach bowled to Ricky." As Ponting spent more time in a hyperbaric chamber to speed up the healing of his painful elbow, there were some encouraging signs he will be fit to play on Boxing Day. One Australian player last night declared he was "90 per cent" certain the skipper would be fit to play his 13th Boxing Day Test. Ponting has made the MCG his personal field of dreams in Boxing Day Tests, where he has averaged 65 and also hit his highest Test score of 257 against India in 2003. Throughout Ponting's career plenty of bowling plans have been tried and failed against him, but Gayle believes he is on to something. He says he conjured the Ponting blueprint with "gut instinct" rather than watching even a single video of the Australian skipper. "The plans that we came up with weren't from watching any videos of Ricky, they were just my gut instinct," Gayle revealed. "Bowling short to Ricky will work especially well in Australia where there is a lot of bounce and big square boundaries so you can put fieldsmen back in the deep. Maybe in other parts of the world you would have to try different plans." Despite Gayle's insistence that Ponting can be exposed with quality short-pitched bowling, he believes Pakistan's hopes will soar if the Aussie captain misses the MCG Test.

[kabira]

Lolzer

[Sachinism]

Chris you joka I think Ponting's major weakness is against the moving ball early on, get it full and getting him driving, he is usually quite clueless

[cowboysfan]

exactly.

[DomainK]

:punter: is getting a slice of mind game.

[Dinx - the Jinx]

C Gayle helping the poyzzzz... Punter is a goner..

[kabira]

Poyzz will be better of pitching up and bowling inswingers.

[gs]

With Malcom Sami in, poyzz will get schooled by punter

[vvvslaxman]

It is very easy to "bunnify" Punter. How many weaknesses he got. Early on when you keep the ball outside the off he prods and edges to slip or keeper. Same against spinners. Now bouncer. :hysterical:

[Clarke]

the love for ponting continues ..

[Macj]

Poyzz and mgmt will listen to Gayle at their own peril, 1 or 2 short balls to the Aus captain hitting him and the ICC + Match Ref + Aussie whiners + Aussie Commy whiners will throw the book at them accuse them of this and that invoking the spirit of game clause and have them banned. Be warned Poyzz, tread VERY carefully Down Under else the avalanche will bury your new found finds.

[The Outsider]

Which one of the poyyzzz will bounce out Ponting - druggie Asif?

[King Tendulkar]

Pak have no bowler fast enough to implement the master plan:cantstop:

[99.94]

Prepared to be hooked for six if that's your game plan

[vvvslaxman]

No batsman has got 100% record with hook shots. Viv Richards or Greg Chappell or Mohinder Amarnath anybody. Unlike other shots hook shots cannot be controlled with precision. Punter has got out to short stuffs recently many times. Either he misjudged the pace (like he insided edged praveen kumar on to stumps) or misjudged the height or line.