Ponting Happy to See Youngsters Making a Mark

Centurion: Australia may have lost the aura of invincibility after the likes of Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne made their exit but captain Ricky Ponting is happy that the youngsters have made a mark in the ICC Champions Trophy.

Having led Australia to their second successive ICC Champions Trophy title, Ponting said the team has gone through a lot over the last one-and-half years and it was great to see the likes of Shane Watson and Cameron White making an impression.

"We have gone through some ups and downs in the last 18 months. A number of great players have left and we brought in a lot of young, fresh players.

It was great to see some of them stand up and deliver," Ponting said after Australia beat New Zealand by six wickets in the final.

For Australia, Watson hit his second successive century and starred in a 128-run stand with White to see the side through.

"After the Ashes, ODI series started in England and we did well there to put ourselves in a position where we can give this tournament a little bit of a shake. We've played some great cricket over the last couple of weeks here," said Ponting, who won the Golden Bat award for leading run scorer besides being adjudged the Player of the Tournament.

Watson was beaming after playing yet another crucial knock and the dashing all-rounder said rebuilding the innings, from six for two wickets, was not an easy task.