Ponting says Australians must defuse Shoaib pace

BRISBANE - Captain Ricky Ponting says Australia's batsmen must find a way to defuse the likes of Shoaib Akhtar to prevent one bad day from ruining their World Cup defence next year.

Shoaib reminded the Australians their World Cup in Africa could unravel in just a few overs during a lightning spell for Pakistan at the Gabba last night.

He claimed 5-25 from eight overs, enabling Pakistan to cruise to a 91-run victory in the deciding match of the Super Challenge series.

Ponting was the first of Shoaib's victims, skittled by a blistering inswinger, and the Rawalpindi Express claimed Damien Martyn and Darren Lehmann with his next nine balls.

Australia opens its World Cup defence against Pakistan on February 11 in Johannesburg - a renowned fast bowlers' playground because of the altitude.

"He bowled well, he bowled quick and he got them in the right areas," Ponting said.

"When you're bowling 150km/hour and swinging the ball you're always going to be hard to play.

"But we've got to find a way to combat that when the World Cup comes around. We have to identify when someone is bowling well and get through those tough times.

"We couldn't do that this time and he ripped the heart out of our innings."

Australia's batsmen were disappointing in the last two matches against Pakistan, folding for 167 and 165 against some pinpoint bowling.

Australia's bowling also had its patchy moments, the home team conceding 87 runs from the final 10 overs last night.

"We have a few areas we need to address and everyone as individuals has to improve a fair bit before the next time we play," Ponting said.

"But I don't think it's a bad thing that we've lost. It's going to be a good wake-up call to all of us.

"When the World Cup comes along we can't afford to have one game like we've had over the last two games.

"We're losing wickets in patches as well and we haven't got partnerships at the top of the order and that's something we need when the World Cup comes around.

"We'll give the guys a bit of time to think about it and hopefully go away and improve their games."

Australian selectors will also think about the all-rounder role because young Tasmanian Shane Watson didn't nail the position against Pakistan.

Watson was the sole all-rounder in the squad after selectors overlooked Andrew Symonds and Ian Harvey, but he conceded 0-46 from five overs last night.

The 21-year-old has a mediocre economy rate of 5.49 runs per over from his first seven one-day internationals.

"He struggled in the last game but the previous two games I thought he did a pretty good job for us," Ponting said.

"He's got some improvement to do with the ball, there's no doubt about that, and his batting is getting there as well.

"There are a few areas in his game that he wants to improve on and he'll go away and do that because he's a very hard worker and has a great attitude.

"I'm sure he'll come back a better player next time."

The Australians left for their homes or to English county teams today, awaiting news on their proposed upcoming series against Pakistan.