Ponting half-century guides Australia

A spicy Johannesburg pitch gave Australia some difficult moments against a second-string West Indies but Ricky Ponting rose above the conditions to keep Australia on track. Having been sent in for an early-morning start, Australia reached 119 for 2 at the halfway mark and they were looking to Ponting to set up a healthy target.

The West Indies player strike meant Australia were almost unbackable favourites but there were some nerves in the Australian camp when Kemar Roach bowled Shane Watson with the first ball of the match. The captain Floyd Reifer felt his best chance against the defending champions was to give his fast men early use of an unpredictable surface and Roach's late-swinging yorker justified Reifer's call.

However, the Tasmanian pairing of Ponting and Tim Paine put together a solid 85-run partnership to steady the innings and avoid any further early jitters. They had their moments of concern, though, as the cracks in the pitch gave Roach, Gavin Tonge and Darren Sammy plenty of assistance.

Several balls jagged sharply back or found extra bounce from a good length and one steep riser from Sammy surprised Ponting so much that he dropped the bat when the ball rapped him on the hands. It was more of a concern for Paine, who was less fluent than his captain and eventually fell for 33, caught behind off David Bernard having already been dropped by the wicketkeeper Chadwick Walton on 16.

The runs flowed much more freely for Ponting, who enjoyed the lack of consistency from the West Indies fast men. Ponting latched onto any width and was particularly strong against Roach, who lacked control and twice went for 17 off an over as Ponting let loose through the leg side.

West Indies didn't help themselves with their fielding. Nikita Miller at third man misjudged an aerial cut from Paine and should have attacked the ball rather than hanging back, while a Ponting flick to fine leg sailed over the boundary because the fielder mistakenly ran in rather than staying back where he could have taken the chance.