Subcontinent be prepared, the Punter’s laid a wager

“There are conditions over there that looking back through the records, probably Australian teams haven’t performed that well in. But saying that, a lot of the guys in the side now have played a lot of cricket in those conditions.”

Australia have matched India in limited overs cricket for several years, including victories in the 2003 World Cup final and recent tri-series in both countries. But the big challenge is the three-Test tour of India later this year.

“Looking back to the last Indian tour, we played really well on that tour but didn’t win it — but we’ve got a better understanding of how we can play well in those conditions,” said Ponting of the epic 2001 series.

Ponting said “One thing I want the team to be able to do is to win away from home. What I want us to do is to play the same brand of cricket overseas as we do here in Australia. We’ve got a lot of cricket in the sub-continent coming up over the next six or eight months and the challenge is there for us.”

Shane Warne is expected to be named in the Test team next week for the three Tests against Sri Lanka, but Ponting warned his inclusion was not automatic. “It’s just going to depend on what happens in the coming days, I think,” he said. “He’s got a game against Tasmania coming up in the next couple of days. I’m sure the selectors would be keeping a pretty close eye on him. You can’t take anything like that for granted.”