Ponting backs Katich

Australian captain Ricky Ponting has backed out of form opener Simon Katich to partner Adam Gilchrist in the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy.

“Kato’s been pretty steady at the top of the order for a while now and he deserves his chance to open the batting in the Champions Trophy,” Ponting said.

With most pundits calling for Katich to be dropped after a disappointing one-day series in Malaysia, especially after his 25 runs from 66 balls in the final, Ponting’s words should be a confidence boost for Katich.

Ponting is also expecting big things from Brett Lee in the upcoming Ashes battles, disclosing they were not happy with the way they used him in the last Ashes series.

“With Glenn going down the way he did and probably a couple of the other guys not in their best form, we were forced to bowl Brett in longer spells and he probably lost a bit of his effectiveness through that.”

“So if we get the right attack and everyone fit and firing here, (Champions Trophy) then we can use him in short bursts and he’s going to be very dangerous.”