South Africa's honeymoon at Number 1 spot in ODI rankings did not last long, as the Aussies continued their surge towards Number 1 and beyond. They now have 24 straight wins in the World Cups. This shows where this team stands and how far other teams are. Australia seems to be the team with extra ordinary men. One of them is Ricky Ponting. Normally a front-foot player who likes to hit on the rise and when the ball is coming on nicely. The other day against England, the pitch was not at all suitable for his kind of play but they way he played, clearly showed his amazing concentration and focus. There was only one thing on his mind - to win. They way Aussie top order is playing, is almost a concern that lower order batsman aren't getting enough runs or time to spend on the pitch. May be we will see some changes in batting order later on. Coming to English performance, I think they lost the game when they slowed down (a little too much) in the middle of the innings(After Bell got out). Australia played the 3rd power play to the greatest advantage. Tait bowled great and did not give chance to the new batsman. Another unsung hero for this side has been Brad Hogg. His spin is creating problems to the batsman. He has performed well and have taken crucial wickets. Against England, he troubled Flintoff a lot and ultimately taking his wicket. There are still exploitable holes in Aussie bowling attack which were almost exposed by England but such is the beauty of this team that they know best how to come back into the game, No matter how bad is the situation. SA have to work hard against West Indies in order to avoid pressure situation later on. WI needs to win all 3 matches to be in contention for Semis. NZ and SL are well poised at this moment.
Australia regain top ODI ranking
Ricky Ponting led his side back into top spot with a win over England
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