Oz psychologist says Punter's mind is his best weapon against bogyman Roach

Sydney, Jan.31 (ANI): A top psychologist believes Australian cricket captain Ricky Ponting should use his mind as a key weapon to counter the mind games being played by West Indian fast bowler Kemar Roach ahead of the one-day series.

Using interesting analogies, performance psychologist Phil Jauncey says if Ricky Ponting believes his strengths, the pull and hook shots, are no longer working for him, he'll feel uneasy.

"The question isn't whether Ponting is having trouble playing Roach's short ball, it is whether it has rattled him or not," the Sydney Morning Herald quoted Jauncey, as saying.

Jauncey has worked with the team between 1996 and 2007.

"If Ponting is thinking, 'This is my strength but it's no longer working for me', he's in trouble. It's like if you think you're God's gift to women and you get rejected, you're going to feel really bad about it.

The only way to change that reaction is to change your belief or your experience. That means Ponting has to consider that maybe, as he's become older, the hook is no longer his best shot. Or maybe he's vulnerable to it now because he's not playing that shot the way he used to," Jauncey said.

Jauncey's summation of Ponting's predicament against the short ball came after Roach told the Herald: "As you can see, Ponting has been getting in a lot of trouble lately. I will be trying my best to make sure he keeps getting in trouble."

Ponting understandably gave a wry smile when asked if he was concerned about Roach, but Roach dismissed the veteran batsman in each of the three Tests this summer and then forced him to retire hurt in Perth after smashing one into his elbow. It raised the possibility that Ponting, 35, is beginning show a slight deterioration in his reflexes, the beginning of the end for any batsman. (ANI)