Ponting the constant in Australia's dominance

The last time Australia lost a World Cup match, the cricket world was a vastly different place. Twenty20 was but a glint in a marketing man's eye, Bangladesh was not yet a Test nation and Hansie Cronje was still a well-respected captain of South Africa. And a 24-year-old Ricky Ponting was making his name as a star of the future.

The tournament has brought great satisfaction for Ponting. He's played in four World Cups and reached four finals. He has won three titles, including two as captain. He has never led Australia to defeat in a World Cup match - 22 wins from 22 games in charge is a remarkable achievement - and they have not suffered defeat in their past 29 World Cup outings.

But times change. When Ponting sets foot in Motera in Ahmedabad on Monday, he will for the first time play a World Cup match without Glenn McGrath, and for just the second time as captain without Adam Gilchrist. Instead, he will have to rely on players like John Hastings, Jason Krejza and David Hussey, solid and skilled performers, but far from daunting opponents.

From the outside, it seems incongruous to compare this 2011 unit with the Australian World Cup squads of the past decade. And yet, they have managed to retain their No. 1 ODI ranking, they have the best win-loss ratio of any of the major teams over the past two years, and Ponting bristles at the suggestion that this outfit is notably weaker than past groups.

"Not at all," Ponting told ESPNcricinfo, when asked if this tournament felt different to his previous World Cups. "This is a great team as well. That's something that I think has been overlooked a little bit already. I know there's a bit of negativity around from other countries about this team of ours at the moment, but we're the No.1-ranked team by probably the biggest margin that there's ever been, and that's with this current group of players.

"Wherever we've been and whatever tournament we've been confronted with, we've managed to find a way to win one-day games and one-day tournaments, which is really pleasing for me and for us. We've got a very good record on the subcontinent as well.

"There's a lot of talk about how teams are going to play spin against us - well, they've always done that and we've always found a way to win. Whether it's in India, Sri Lanka or wherever, we get the job done and we know what we need to do to play well here. We're very confident with the group of players we've got here that we can go a long way in the tournament."

That may be so, and by winning the Champions Trophy in 2009, his men proved that they can succeed without the legends of the past. They're also coming off a 6-1 thrashing of England. But if Ponting's side can win a fourth consecutive World Cup, it will have to rank as the most meaningful of his triumphs.

He hasn't been helped by selections on the run. Australia have had four years to plan for this event, but four months ago suddenly decided that the established allrounder James Hopes wasn't the man for the job, and Hastings was chosen. Even more surprising was the resurrection last month of David Hussey, whose one-day career appeared to have died 18 months earlier.

Then there are the injuries. Michael Hussey is the biggest loss, and Australia would have liked the reliability of Nathan Hauritz in the 50-over format. The casualty list also includes Xavier Doherty, Shaun Marsh, Clint McKay, Ryan Harris, Steve O'Keefe, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc.

Until recently, Ponting was also in the recuperation clinic, but it would take far more than a sore pinky finger to keep him from the title defence. Ponting has been the one constant throughout Australia's dominant limited-overs era, and he doesn't think all his players are aware of the unbeaten streak that could extend to 30 games on Monday against Zimbabwe.

But there's another record that Ponting himself wasn't conscious of when he flew in for this tournament. When he walks to the middle of the Ahmedabad ground, Ponting will become the single most capped player in World Cup history, breaking his tie with McGrath on 39 games. And for all that has changed, his drive to succeed is as strong as ever.