Oz batting depth concerns Ian Chappell

Sydney: Former captain Ian Chappell feels that lack of emerging talent in Australian batting was allowing struggling veteran players like Ricky Ponting to prolong their careers.

"It`s an indictment on the young Australian batsmen who aren`t knocking on the (selection) door. If Australia had two or three good young players, Ponting might be gone," Chappell said. Chappell feels the Indian team has the best chance to beat the young Australian side. "If (Indian skipper) M.S. Dhoni`s boys don`t think they can beat the Aussies this time, they are off their rocker. The Australian team is very young. They may have good days and the system in Australia is good enough to ensure you`ll never get a bad Australian team, but they are very inconsistent right now," Chappell was quoted as saying by The Courier Mail. Former Test batsman Greg Blewett was also concerned about the lack of depth in Australian batting. "I have no doubt the depth isn`t there. We`ve shown there`s some depth in the bowling but we haven`t had a lot there with the bat the last few years and that reflects in the amount of runs being made in the Shield competition in recent years. "Last year Mark Cosgrove was the leading run scorer with 800-odd runs. I`d like to see at least half-a-dozen guys getting 800-plus and banging on the door, a bit like Ed Cowan has. At the moment, there is a great opportunity for young batsmen because if you score runs consistently, like Ed Cowan you can find yourself in the Test team," he said. IANS