User:Aaroncrick/Ricky Ponting with the Australian cricket team in the 2007 Cricket World Cup

Background

Australia left for St Vincent, Australia's venue for its two warm-up matches against Zimbabwe and England on February 28 without Brett Lee because of ankle damage. In the first warmup game against Zimbabwe, Ponting scored just 2 in Australia's 106 run victory.[1] In Australia's second and last warm up game, this time against England, Ponting again failed to make an impact, scoring just 7 before he was bowled by off-spinner Jamie Dalrymple.

Group matches

First match against Scotland

Australia started its official World Cup campaign with three group matches played at Warner Park, St Kitts. Ponting himself started his campaign successfully with an innings of 113 from 93 deliveries that included five sixes, as Australia were dominant in 203 run victory against Scotland. Ponting later wrote "By the end of our innings, I felt like my game was in pretty good shape."

Second match against the Netherlands

Despite scoring just 23 in the next match against the Netherlands, Australia still amassed 358 and preceded to bundle out the Dutch for 129 in 26.5 overs.

Third match against South Africa

In the lead up to Australia's last group stage match against pre-tournament number one ranked team South Africa; former South African batsman Jonty Rhodes claimed that Australia weren't as good fielding side as the South Africans. Winning the toss and batting first, Australia amassed 377/6—their highest score in World Cups. Matthew Hayden scored 101 from 68 deliveries and reached three figures in only 66 deliveries, and in doing so, scored the fastest Cricket World Cup century in history. Ponting also scored 91 from 91 balls, and became the seventh player to score 10,000 ODI runs. Despite South Africa being 160 without loss in the 21st over, bringing back memories of their record run chase in Johannesburg a year earlier, South Africa crumbled, losing 9 wickets for just 74 runs. At the post-game media conference, Ponting was critical of Kallis' innings (48 from 63). When asked if he was surprised by the way Kallis had batted in that situation, he replied "No, that's the way he plays."

Super Eights

Fourth match against the West Indies

Australia comfortably qualified for the Super Eights with their first match played at the new Antigua Recreation Ground in Antigua. Ponting stated that he wasn't very impressed with the outfield labeling it "... ridiculously sandy, to the point that the first thing I thought when I walked on it was a torn leg muscle." Australia's number three was run out when on 35, with his team amassing 322 mainly thanks to 158 from Hayden. In a match spread out over two days, Australia comfortably defeated the locals by 103 runs.

Fifth match against Bangladesh

In their next match, Australia come up against lowly Bangladesh in another ran interrupted affair. This time the match was shortened to 22 overs a side as the stadium failed to handle the rain that fell before the rain. In the end Australia won by 10 wickets with Ponting not getting a chance to bat.

Sixth match against England

Ponting's men had an eight day break before their match against England again in Antigua. Despite Kevin Pieterson's century in England's innings, Ponting amassed a half-century guiding Australia to a seven wicket victory.

Seventh match against Ireland

After not getting a bat in Australia's rout of Ireland in Barbados on April 13.

Eight match against Sri Lanka

Ponting steered Australia to victory in their next match against Sri Lanka in Grenada, with 66 not out.

Ninth match against the New Zealand

Grenada was again the venue for Australia's final super eights battle, this time against New Zealand. Again amongst the runs, Ponting produced a fluent 66 that included seven boundaries, with his team wrapping up their biggest victory of the tournament. Before the Sri Lankan match, reports came out describing the pitch as a "compost heap", although Ponting disagreed, even though he described the square as "patchy".

Semi Final

Tenth match against South Africa

With his men now firm favourites for the tournament, they again came up against South Africa in the Semi-Final. Surprisingly to some, South African skipper Graeme Smith elected to bat on a pitch that appeared to have something in it. South Africa, who were reeling at 27/5, ended up posting 149. Ponting's description of the performance was, "they were all trying to play the innings of their life in the same game, but they were cut down, one after the other. Instead of swimming between the flags, they drowned down the wrong end of the beach. Smith and Jacques Kallis were too aggressive much too quickly..." Although Ponting struggled to trouble the scorers with 22, Australia easily dispatched South Africa by 7 wickets, inside 32 overs.