Australia were tied 1-1 in the three-match ODI series before losing the series decider by eight wickets in the absence of Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood. It was Australia's first series loss to Pakistan on home soil in 22 years.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Ponting acknowledged the importance of keeping Test players fresh for the all-important five-Test Border-Gavaskar Trophy starting on November 22 in Perth.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cLooking back at it, it must have been something that was decided a long way out because with a series being 1-1, Australian cricket teams don't like losing,\u201d said Ponting on the ICC Review.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cThe Australian public doesn't like to see their team lose, and I think that's been highlighted over the last few days.\"<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Prior to this series win, Pakistan\u2019s last ODI series triumph on Australian soil came in 2002. Since then, they played 10 ODIs across two tours (2009\/10 & 2016\/17) and won just once.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Given the long interval between the final ODI and the start of the Test series, questions were raised about the decision to rest key players.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cThe thing that the public probably found most frustrating was how big that gap was between the third one-dayer and the first Test,\u201d said Ponting.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\"But the other side to look at it is that these boys have now got to get through five straight Test matches in quite a short, compressed amount of time,\u201d said Ponting. \u201cAnd certainly, for the fast bowlers, that's never an easy thing to do.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cSo I'm sure the plan was to give those guys that break ensures them of getting through to the end of the Test series a little bit fresher and healthier than they might have been if they had to travel to Perth and play that one-day game.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Ponting noted that rest alone might not be enough to address the physical and mental toll of a lengthy Test series. He cited India's previous tour of Australia as an example, where they battled through numerous injuries to claim victory in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cWe saw last time that India were here, they were battling more than Australia,\u201d he said. \u201cThey had all sorts of injuries on the way through and still found a way to get up and win.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Ponting noted that rest alone might not be enough to address the physical and mental toll of a lengthy Test series. He cited India's previous tour of Australia as an example, where they battled through numerous injuries to claim victory in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Also Read: <\/b> Highest tax paying cricketers<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n