The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Ponting likely to miss remainder of the ODI series

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Friday, Mar 03, 2006

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Sport - Cricket

Ponting likely to miss remainder of the ODI series

Johannesburg: Captain Ricky Ponting risks aggravating a stomach muscle strain if he plays in the remainder of the five-match one-day cricket series in South Africa, team physiotherapist Errol Alcott has warned.

While Ponting has an outside chance of returning to lead Australia in the second day-night match in Cape Town on Friday, medical opinion is that he will miss the game and also Sunday's match in Port Elizabeth. South Africa leads the series 1-0.

With a schedule of five Tests in South Africa and Bangladesh in as many weeks coming up, there is a reluctance to expose any likely member of the Test squad to unnecessary risk.

Alcott said he was far less optimistic than Ponting about the skipper's chances of playing this weekend and conceded he risked aggravating the stomach strain in the more frenetic pace of limited-overs cricket.

``Definitely, all soft tissue injuries are in that category with one-day cricket,'' Alcott told The Australian on Thursday.

``It's a faster game and, especially a guy like him (Ponting), he's like a little pocket dynamo and everything he does he's 100 percent. He's still pretty tender in the spots that showed up on the (MRI) scan.''

Honouring Desmond Tutu

Meanwhile, besides dedicating Friday's ODI to the Nobel Peace prize-winner, the cricket board in South Africa has arranged a host of events in honour of archbishop Desmond Tutu who turns 75 this month.

The United Cricket Board of South Africa has announced a testimonial dinner on March 29 at Midrand in honour of the archbishop, who is an ardent cricket fan. The dinner is expected to be attended by the cricketers from both sides.

According to a UCBSA release, both the teams will play Friday's match for the `Strength in Diversity Trophy,' named after the Desmond Tutu Diversity Trust.

Funds raised from the match and the March 29 dinner will be donated to the trust. — Agencies

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