Ponting primes side to equal world record

CRICKET/Test matches:Australia's players were struggling to contain their excitement at the prospect of equalling the world record for the most consecutive Test wins, captain Ricky Ponting said. Australia have won their last 15 matches and can equal their own record if they win the second Test against India, starting at the Sydney Cricket Ground today.

Ponting said he did not want his players to become too distracted by the looming milestone but could not resist using it as a motivational tool at yesterday's team meeting.

"I don't want to be taking anything away from that or the team, which is why I did mention it to the team this morning," he said.

"I wanted them to have a little bit of a taste of that, digest it, get away, prepare and come and play well. I'm sure there will be a bit more excitement if we happen to win this Test."

The Australians go into the match as overwhelming favourites after crushing India by 337 runs in last week's first Test in Melbourne. As expected, the selectors retained the same team that won the series opener and Ponting said the pressure was on the Indians to raise their game.

The tourists struggled against the Australian bowlers in Melbourne, failing to make 200 in either innings as the match ended in less than four days.

"I think the Indian batsmen have got some concerns just because of how well we bowled last game," Ponting said.

The Australian skipper also missed out on a big score in the series opener but said he was confident of making amends at the Sydney Cricket Ground, where he has scored 1,226 runs at an average of 81.73.

"If I get in and get away here it will be a different story. Hopefully it's my turn," he said. "I'm training hard, I'm batting well, so I think it's only a matter of time before I get some runs."

Meanwhile, South Africa have yet to make a decision on their batting line-up for today's second Test against West Indies in Cape Town after their surprise loss in the first game of the three-match series. Neil McKenzie has been added to their squad as a possible replacement for the struggling opener Herschelle Gibbs after West Indies won their first Test on South African soil by 128 runs.

"No final decisions have been made on the team," Smith said. "There's no clarity on the team at the moment, sorry."

Smith said he was confident his team would give a better account of themselves in the second Test.

"We had a very good training session yesterday, and we seem to be hitting our straps again," he said. "Hopefully it's just about executing and getting things right out in the middle.

"We know we're capable of it; we've proven our worth. We know we're going to play this game under pressure, and we know we can play a lot better than we did in Port Elizabeth."

Smith was hopeful the match would be played on a fair pitch.

"It looks like a pretty good surface; it probably has the best covering of grass I've seen at Newlands for a while," he said. "It has been a bit patchy in the last couple of years, but this pitch looks pretty good. It looks like it might take a bit of spin later in the game. Hopefully it has a good bit of bounce in it."

West Indies captain Chris Gayle said his team were ready for the contest. "We have celebrated the new year, but our focus is back on the cricket," he said. "It has to be because we know South Africa will be coming back strongly."

Coach John Dyson added: "I knew the guys had the skills and the ability, and it was great to see them put some of that . . . on display. We've won the first Test but we've now got to focus on the cricket that's ahead of us."

Reserve wicketkeeper Patrick Browne joined the West Indian squad in Cape Town yesterday.

SOUTH AFRICA (from) Graeme Smith (captain), Herschelle Gibbs, Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers, Mark Boucher, Shaun Pollock, Ashwell Prince, Neil McKenzie, Andre Nel, Paul Harris, Dale Steyn, Makhaya Ntini.

WEST INDIES (from) Chris Gayle (captain), Dwayne Bravo, Patrick Browne, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Pedro Collins, Fidel Edwards, Daren Ganga, Rawl Lewis, Runako Morton, Brenton Parchment, Daren Powell, Denesh Ramdin, Darren Sammy, Marlon Samuels, Devon Smith, Jerome Taylor.