Ponting: We can handle spin

Australia is not bracing itself for a searching examination from India and Pakistan's spinners in the Champions Trophy despite being bamboozled by Graeme Swann in its final game before the event on Sunday night.

Being spun out by the familiar spin of Swann is hardly the ideal preparation to face India's Harbhajan Singh or Pakistan pair Shahid Afridi and Saeed Ajmal.

But should Australia's pre-tournament expectations that pace will play more of a role than spin prove correct they will not play a major role later this month in South Africa.

In the event conditions favour spin, captain Ricky Ponting is backing his batsmen to prosper, though losses to England in the fifth Test at The Oval and on Sunday do not inspire as much confidence.

Ponting said Australia had few problems against Swann and Adil Rashid during the series, a belief supported by the six-one scoreline, but the tourists showed enough weaknesses at a turning Riverside to raise eyebrows in the Pakistan and India camps.

"I wouldn't expect the wickets in Jo'burg and Pretoria would spin as much as this one did today," he said.

"Even if they do, we've got a number of players who have played well and performed well in spinning conditions."

"We play a lot of our one-day cricket in sub-continental type conditions. Most one-day wickets are pretty dry and offer a little bit for the spinners anyway. I wouldn't read too much into today."

Afridi and the controversial Ajmal, who was booked for a suspect action this year, caused Australia problems in April but Ponting's team grew more accustomed to the pair as the series wore on, winning the five-match battle 3-2.

Ponting said he had a pretty good idea of Australia's best XI but how the players adjust to conditions in South Africa during the first two days of training will prove crucial.

With Brett Lee, Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Bracken and Nathan Hauritz all in strong form, Australia's most pressing decision is likely to be whether to play an extra batsman in Callum Ferguson or all-rounder James Hopes.

The Australians will land in South Africa on Tuesday, about a week after its three group rivals, giving them less time to acclimatise.

"In an ideal world it would be nice to be there with all the other teams and get a game under your belt," Ponting said.

"Every other side has played a practice game. But we've known for a long time this is how it is so we've had one eye on our preparation for the Champions Trophy the last few weeks as well."

"I don't think any of us have played cricket in Africa at that time of year, so it will be a bit of an eye opener for all of us once we arrive. We're not entirely sure what to expect just yet."