Brisbane, Feb 18: After losing back-to-back matches to India and Sri Lanka respectively, Australia are keen to turn things around at Brisbane. Coach Mickey Arthur spoke about the inspirational presence of Ricky Ponting while saying the boys were smarting from the defeats and keen on effecting a turnaround.

Excerpts from his pre-match press conference:

On the comprehensive defeat against Sri Lanka

Last night was unacceptable. To be honest, we were well and truly outplayed. It's really disappointing and we need to lift [our game] big time for tomorrow.

On the changes to the team

Not a huge amount. We selected two squads for these two games; the guys know we need some performances now. We showed a trend of losing in Adelaide and Sydney last night and it's never good to have back-to-back losses. We need someone to stand up for us tomorrow, but I'm confident we have the players; I've got no worries. I’m confident we can turn it around.

On being mentally jaded

It is going to be a factor, there's no doubt about it. We've pushed the guys incredibly hard in terms of our intensity and our expectation around them and some guys are feeling the effects of that. But we know what the schedule is, we have to make sure we manage the boys correctly and that we've got the guys up and firing come tomorrow.

On the selection policy

[...] The communication around the team has been really good; players know exactly where they stand all the time. Perhaps the one thing that is lacking is the information that has gone out to media and public and that's one thing we can maybe have a look at. But the communication around the team is very good. It's a very happy camp, no doubt about that.

On Ricky Ponting’s poor run

Ricky is a class act; there is no way you can write off a champion like Ricky Ponting. He faced those same issues around the first couple of Test matches and he came through the Test series, had a great series against India and I hope he turns it around tomorrow.

On the captaincy

It's totally Michael Clarke's team and Ricky is very aware of that. Ricky was outstanding around the group, he oozes confidence and experience. We are in a fortunate position to have a guy like Ricky leading the ship if something does happen to Michael Clarke.

On David Warner

We saw some huge potential in Dave; we want to grow him as a leader. He's not ready yet and he knows that and we've communicated that to him. We brought Dave into the vice-captaincy position to learn to be part of our leadership group and to learn from Michael and I when we strategise our position. In terms of taking guys on the field right now, he’s not ready for that yet and he understands that. I reckon he could be a great leader in a few years to come. Talking about succession planning, we need to find a leader and he's one of those guys on our radar.

On Ricky Ponting’s future

I'd like to see Ricky Ponting in our team all the time, but as I've said through the summer, every cricketer's currency is performance, that's what gets you into the Australian team. A character like Ricky Ponting is someone you want around the team all the time because he's so inspirational. He's still our fittest player and hardest trainer and he trains with the most intensity. He's a fantastic example to every guy who comes into this team.

On making matches counts

We want to win every game and we've been very disappointed by what's gone down over the last few games. Collectively we have taken responsibility and had a good hard chat about it. I'm expecting some good performances tomorrow.

On the bowlers

Our bowlers in Melbourne, I thought, were outstanding; they won us a game in Perth defending 230, which wasn't bad. Adelaide was a bit flatter so it was a bit more difficult. I don't think we can be questioning our bowlers at all.

On the openers

The thought process was that we wanted Matty [Matthew] Wade to finish for us; we see him being a good finisher for us in years to come. He has the ability to open the batting as well and while we have only one recognised opener in our squad, Matt is doing the job with a huge amount of distinction. I think in years to come, if and when Shane Watson comes back, Matty could also play a role for us at the back end.

On Shane Watson

We'll sit down and discuss after tomorrow's game what to do with Shane. We wanted to see Shane play some cricket and we think it was really important than he got out there for NSW, not only for us but for him as well. He came through a [Sheffield] Shield game really well and we'll take that point to the discussion table on Monday. We want to see a fit and firing Shane Watson so the sooner we can get him back, we'll be happy.

On Brad Haddin

The door is not closed on Brad Haddin and he knows that. He has to go out and turn performances in. We can't guarantee positions to anybody; they need to be able to perform.

On Tim Paine

Tim Paine is getting there. We have monitored his progress quite closely and we hope he will be ready to go by the start of next season at the latest.

On the team’s keenness to win

The guys are hurting and this is an opportunity for them to atone for what happened last night, most definitely. I'm not one to go wielding changes after one poor performance and if they don't atone for it they know what the consequences are.