Shock exit will not affect Ashes confidence - Ponting

By Richard Sydenham

NOTTINGHAM (Reuters) - Australia's shock elimination from the World Twenty20 will not affect their confidence for the Ashes series, captain Ricky Ponting said on Monday.

Sri Lanka became the second team to beat Australia in three days with a six-wicket triumph at Trent Bridge and Ponting's side have now lost 13 of their 23 Twenty20 clashes.

They must now start preparing for a five-test series against England starting in Cardiff on July 8.

"It's my job to make sure we get over this pretty quickly and start focussing on the red balls and white clothing over the next couple of months," Ponting told reporters.

"I certainly won't be focussing on the negative stuff that has happened over the last couple of days.

"It's about looking at the positives we have created with our test team over the last few months. I like to think that none of this will linger around.

"Being in England there is no better place to be as the excitement and atmosphere at the start of an Ashes is going to be tremendous and if we can get caught up in that there won't be any negatives hanging around from the last few days."

UNEXPECTED PRACTICE