CAPE TOWN, Sept 13: Australian captain Ricky Ponting said his team’s top batsmen had not shown enough respect for cricket when they crashed to a shock five-wicket defeat against minnows Zimbabwe in a World Twenty20 match on Wednesday.

Victorious Zimbabwe coach Robin Brown, meanwhile, said he had reminded his players of a historic day 24 years ago before they took on the World Cup and Test champions.

“In our first World Cup in 1983 our first game was against Australia and we managed to beat them,” said Brown. “I reminded them of that and told the guys to go out and express themselves in our first World Cup Twenty20 game.”

The Australians paid the penalty for trying to attack from the start of their innings, losing their all-star top three of Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden and captain Ricky Ponting for 19 runs inside the first four overs. All fell to rash strokes.

“That was where the game was lost,” admitted Ponting. “The top three batters didn’t respect their own game enough. When you don’t respect this game it gets up and bites you.”

Ponting said the fact that it was Australia’s first competitive game since they won the World Cup in the West Indies in April was no excuse.

“They outplayed us,” he said of the Zimbabweans. “They did most things in the game better than us.”

The defeat left the tournament favourites needing to win their remaining group game against England on Friday if they are not to go home early.—AFP