Australian skipper Ricky Ponting today said that they failed to execute their plans apart from misreading the pitch, which largely resulted in their 72-run defeat against India in the Perth Test.

“We all got this one wrong. It hasn’t been a bad wicket, but it hasn’t been what we expected it to be,” Ponting said. “The whole game hasn’t panned out the way we would have liked. In the first innings, we got our ends mixed up, the way the breeze was all over the place on the first morning,” he was quoted as saying in The Australian.

Ponting had warned India ahead of third Test that he would unleash the wicket-taking machine —Shaun Tait— but dmitted his own mistake in not utilising his resources to the optimum level.

“I haven’t been able to use him the way I wanted to. He didn’t come on until late and only bowled a couple of overs efore lunch.”

Ponting let Tait bowl 21 overs in the match and the speedsters went wicket less in the match. However, the skipper still exuded confidence that Tait would do well at Adeliade, venue for the fourth and deciding Test, beginning on January 24.

“Adelaide is usually pretty predictable. It’s usually a good batting wicket for the first few days and then a bit up and down for the last day or so. If Tait’s bowling at 150km/h and there’s variable bounce, quite often it is the variable bounce which gets players out, not just the speed of the delivery. Tait also has the ability to bowl reverse-swing in Adelaide,” he said.

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