Ponting surprised by West Indies' lack of intensity

ST GEORGE'S, Grenada (CMC):

Australia captain Ricky Ponting is surprised by the lack of intensity West Indies showed in the third Digicel One-Day International at the Grenada National Stadium on Sunday.

Needing a win to keep alive their hopes in the series, West Indies lost by seven wickets after managing a modest 223 in 48 overs. It was their third successive defeat which assured Australia of a series win.

West Indies wasted a promising start of 86 in 17.4 overs and Australia romped to the target in 40.3 overs after a record second wicket partnership of 190 between Ponting and Shane Watson.

Energy sucked out

"I felt that when they got off to the start and we were able to drag them back, that was when the real energy was sucked out of the their team," Ponting told reporters.

"Although they got an early wicket, when Shane and I were in there for three or four overs, there just wasn't much intensity out there.

"We played reasonably well out there, but there was a series on the line and we expected a bit more from the West Indians at that time."

The victory for Australia followed wins by 84 runs and 63 runs in the first two matches and Ponting expressed satisfaction about the performance of his team.

Having taken an unbeatable 3-0 series lead, Ponting also wants to end on a high note after the disappointment of losing the last three ODIs on their 2003 tour when they clinched the series by winning the first four matches.

Pretty impressed

"I've been pretty impressed. The second and third games were the two best performances. We didn't get everything right from the start and West Indies had us on the back foot for the first 20 overs," he said.

"The way we responded was terrific. I'm really satisfied the way we have gone. The series has been played in the way we wanted.

"We have two matches to go. We've been here to the Caribbean before, being in this situation and lost the last couple of games. We want to focus on making sure we are right for Friday's game."

The final two matches of the series will be on Friday and Sunday at Warner Park in St Kitts.