Injured Ponting confident of playing in Ashes Test

Ponting broke the little finger on his left hand while attempting a slip catch during the third Test win in Perth last weekend.

Ponting said since suffering the break he has been determined to play in Sunday's crucial Test before an anticipated 90,000-plus crowd at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

"If there is ever a Test match you want to play it's Boxing Day in Melbourne, so I have been doubly determined to make sure I'm fit after suffering a broken little finger," Ponting said in his newspaper column in The Australian.

"I'm confident I'll be there playing in front of what we all hope will be a world record crowd of 91,000 or more at the MCG, because it doesn't get much bigger than this."
Ponting said while his teammates spent a few days resting after Australia's 267-run victory in Perth, he flew to Melbourne to consult a specialist.

"I have always been confident of playing on Boxing Day, but I wanted to get the best medical advice to make sure there were no complications," he said.

"The last thing I want to do is let the team down if something goes wrong.
"However the prognosis has been positive and I fielded yesterday without discomfort."
Ponting said he intended to bat on Friday and Christmas Day in the MCG nets to test his injury.

"But I will be very surprised if I'm not out in the middle tossing the coin with Andrew Strauss come Boxing Day," he said.

Ponting said he took an elbow injury into last year's Boxing Day Test against Pakistan and had been "80-20 (percent)" about not playing.

"This year I am 80-20 or even 90-10 sure of playing," he said. "This time things are nowhere as bad as last year." (AFP) PM PM 12240851