The Australian cricket team's current decline is an unavoidable fallout of a long-term plan to win the 2011 World Cup,insists embattled skipper Ricky Ponting. "One-day games and series come and go pretty quickly and while our current results have been disappointing everybody has to understand there is a long-term plan in place and things can change quickly," Ponting wrote in his column for 'The Australian'. "Even now we are working toward the 2011 World Cup,blooding players,testing tactics and finding out who performs under pressure," he explained. Recalling the 0-3 whitewash at the hands of New Zealand ahead of the 2007 World Cup in West Indies,Ponting said his team was lambasted after that defeat but went on to win the World Cup without losing a game. "Australia has not lost a game at the past two World Cups and that didn't happen by accident,but I wonder if anybody remembers the 2007 one-day series against New Zealand over there," he said. "I didn't go because my back was playing up. Adam Gilchrist had a rest,which attracted a bit of comment at the time and Michael Hussey was handed the captaincy," he recalled. "It was a time when people like Adam Voges,Shane Watson,Shaun Tait and Mitchell Johnson were given a chance to show what they had. "The results weren't flash. We lost 3-0 and it was right on the eve of the World Cup. I remember the criticism of the team and the speculation about whether Gilly and I should have been rested,but it was part of a plan to ensure our better players,or more experienced players,were ready for the big tournament," Ponting said. Ponting said the team is in a similar situation right now. "We're a bit further out from the World Cup right at the moment,but it's a similar situation. There's been criticism about me not playing the next few games and I was probably the person who was most reluctant about it,but it's all about the bigger picture. A lot of planning has gone into this decision,just as there was before we decided to rest Mitchell Johnson for the start of the one-day series," he said. "People have to be a little patient with some of the younger players. They are long-term investments. Shaun Marsh and David Warner are learning on the job. Everybody can see what enormous talent they have,but in this game there are going to be steps forward and steps backward," he added.
