Finish South Africans off, says Ponting

Ricky Ponting has called on his Australia team to finish the job they started three weeks ago when the final Test against South Africa gets under way in Cape Town today.

Finish South Africans off, says Ponting

Ricky Ponting has called on his Australia team to finish the job they started three weeks ago when the final Test against South Africa gets under way in Cape Town today.

Australia have already clinched the series after victories in the opening two matches, but their captain has stressed the importance of another to complete a whitewash. "It's really important to me, as captain of the side, and more so with a lot of younger guys around," he said.

"I've been letting them know they can't take anything for granted in this game. I got to most of the young guys today and had a chat about putting last week behind us and moving on.

Focussed
"We've had those three or four days away but since we've been back together as a group everything has been focussed on being as well prepared as we can be for this game.

"We've won our last three Test matches in a row against South Africa. It's important that we forget that but remember the things that have made us play at the level we have."

All the headlines in recent days have been surrounding South Africa's captaincy and team selection. With Graeme Smith breaking a finger in the last match, Ashwell Prince was called up and named captain.

However, he subsequently declined the role after also being asked to open the batting, with Jacques Kallis now named to lead the side which is certain to include two debutants in opener Imraan Khan and one of Albie Morkel or Wayne Parnell.

And Ponting feels that asking the all-rounder to lead the team could have an effect on his performance.

Tough for Kallis
He added: "He's got enough on his plate, anyway, with being a top-four batter and an all-rounder. He's someone who bowls 20 overs an innings for them. He's got a lot on his plate.

"I think we saw something similar when England came to Australia in 2006-07 and (Andrew) Flintoff was captain. When you are an all-rounder, you already have a lot to think about so that won't make his job any easier.

"But for us, all that stuff is irrelevant. We've been reading about what's been happening but when Thursday comes around, that will all be forgotten."

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