Ponting likely to play but Clarke still in doubt

Australia are not expecting their Twenty20 group matches in Cape Town to be dominated by batsmen as the damp conditions could swing things back in favour of the bowlers. They are also still deciding on their starting line-up for the opening match against Zimbabwe, with concerns over Shane Watson and Michael Clarke.

Tim Nielsen, the coach, said Australia's warm-up games at Benoni and Centurion were useful but were not an accurate guide to how Cape Town would play in early-season conditions. The city had more than 100 millimetres of rain in August and showers were expected this week.

"It's going to be a heavy ground, heavy air and damp conditions," Nielsen told AAP. "You certainly notice how quick the ball comes off the bat up here [in Johannesburg] it just flies, so that will be different. And if it's going to seam around and swing a bit it's certainly going to put the balance in the favour of the bowlers so it will be a different game to what we've played over the last couple of days."

Australia beat New Zealand and lost to South Africa in their practice matches, although they were well below full strength with Ricky Ponting and Shane Watson only arriving on Monday, Clarke struggling with a lower abdominal strain and Matthew Hayden suffering back spasms. Although he is jetlagged Ponting is preparing to play against Zimbabwe early Thursday morning (Australian time) and Hayden is also expected to line up. Clarke remains in doubt and Watson's hamstring injury might mean he is rested until the group stage is over.

Nielsen said even in the shortest version of the game, all 11 players needed to be ready for action. "You've got to be ready for a couple of wickets to fall in succession," he said. "Every now and again and you've got to be willing to hold your nerve and not panic at that time."

He said there might be advantages to batting second in Twenty20, although the key was keeping calm regardless of what stage the game was at. "It certainly gives you a clear idea of where you're going when you've got a target to chase," Nielsen said. "If you lose a few early wickets, you might overdo it a little bit when you're batting first, thinking you need a bigger target."