All three formats can flourish, Border says

Hyderabad: Allan Border, the legendary Australian cricketer, likes to visit India. Ask him why and he will list several reasons — and winning the World Cup in 1987 would be at the top of the list.

"AB," as the cricket world knows him, was in New Delhi earlier this week to take part in a Half Marathon along with Cathy Freeman, his compatriot and 400-metre Olympic gold medallist. Following are the excerpts of a chat with Gulf News:

GULF NEWS: The Australians are no as longer invincible as they were a few years before.

ALLAN BORDER: Yes, but we are going through a rebuilding process. There was a time when we dominated the cricket world for more than a decade. People were afraid of playing against us. Then we lost some great cricketers like Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Matthew Hayden, Adam Gilchrist. Yet, this side had won a few one-day series as well as Test matches.

As the captain of Australia, you had to rebuild the side, too. What are your tips for Ricky Ponting, who is doing a similar job now?

See, our cases are not similar. When I became the captain of Australia, we were neither the No 1 team in the world, nor had we two decades of domination behind us. My challenge was to take the team to a better platform while Ponting's challenge is to maintain the No 1 position. As far as the rebuilding goes, though, it's the same, but the targets are different.

As a captain, how do you rate Ricky Ponting?

The only complaint I have about him is losing the Ashes twice. I was a bit disappointed when we lost it again in 2009. But then, you cannot blame the captain only for a series defeat. The captain is as good as his team, you can never deny that, and I really feel that he is a very good captain who had done some wonderful things, Like, creating an atmosphere where the younger players can perform well. He is very popular among the teammates. The baton is in the right hands.

What is your opinion about India's current side?

The change is in the attitude of the cricketers. This side is very aggressive compared to the teams we had played in our times. Very competitive too. Talentwise, though, there is not much of a difference.

People are really worried about the future of one-day cricket.

There's no need to get in a panic. I still believe there is enough scope for all the three formats to flourish. Maybe, there should be a reduction in number of matches the teams play. A 10 to 15 per cent cut in the numbers. One-day cricket is a lovely game where even if you are five down, you can expect someone to score a hundred and revive the match for his team. A bowler can go through an innings taking a fiver. I am not at all worried about the future of this format.