Ponting promises no mercy for Bangladesh

COLOMBO - Australian captain Ricky Ponting promises Australia won't take things easy against Bangladesh in Thursday's Champions Trophy one-day cricket match here.

With the near upset by Kenya earlier this month still a strong memory, Ponting said the world champion wouldn't take too many risks in a should-win match and would field its strongest team.

"We'll just be focusing on the things that we need to do to get up in the next game against Bangladesh," Ponting said.

While admitting it would be "nice for us to get another solid hit under our belts before the semifinal" against Sri Lanka on Friday week, Ponting said there would be no repeat of the game against Kenya, where Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie were rested and Matthew Hayden and Damien Martyn were shuffled so far down the order they didn't get a bat.

"We probably won't do too much differently ... but if the opportunity presents itself during the game then we'll think about it, if we think any guys need a a decent hit or a decent bowl."

Having thumped New Zealand by 164 runs in the opening pool one match, Ponting was asked what sort of a hiding his side could dish to inexperienced Bangladesh.

"We'll just have to wait and see - the next game will be a totally different game," Ponting said, before reminding people of the near-miss against Kenya.

"We had a very close game against Kenya over in Kenya just a few weeks ago but as long as we play somewhere near our best we should do well."

Should Australia progress past Bangladesh, it will have a semifinal against Sri Lanka with a potential final looming against either South Africa or India.

It would be just the workout Australia would like with next year's World Cup in mind.

New Zealand on the other hand, plays Bangladesh on Friday before heading home to lick its wounds after being bundled out of the tournament as defending champion.

New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming asked for his side to be treated leniently after the Kiwis suffered their biggest loss to Australia and the second-biggest in their 413 one-day games.

"Don't starting talking about worst performances," Fleming said.

"This time we were outclassed, it was a bad performance but it doesn't mean we're a terrible side."

He said the return to the side of injured all-rounder Chris Cairns would be a major boost ahead of the World Cup, as would the return of Craig McMillan, who missed this tournament for safety reasons.

"Chris Cairns is a big player who we were always going to miss," he said.

"He's a quality all-rounder, a world class all-rounder. Missing him alters the balance of the side and takes away a maximum amount of experience, and it's experience which wins big games and big tournaments.

"Still, it was a chance for the other guys to go through an international with Australia and they'll learn some big lessons."