Steve Waugh disappointed with middle order

Australian skipper Steve Waugh said on Friday that he was happy with his own batting form but expressed disappointment that the top order batsmen had missed out on valuable practice in the middle.

Talking to reporters at the end of the day's play, Waugh said that he had achieved what he had set out to do in the morning. He wanted to spend some time in the middle but never thought in terms of getting a century.

Commenting on Mark Waugh's injury, the 35-year-old Aussie skipper said that the decision not to bat was entirely Mark's as he wanted to be available to play in the first Test. He added that because of the injury, there was a 50-50 chance he would play in the Test.

Waugh was clear in his view that there was no use hiding a player in the field and if they played Mark Waugh in the Test, he would have to field in the slips. If they decided to drop Mark Waugh for the Test, Ricky Ponting would bat at number four, he added.

The Australian top order has failed twice in two warm up games and the skipper was disappointed to see them lose the opportunity to settle down in Indian batting conditions. He commented that they were not as disciplined as he expected them to be. He added that even the bowling was inconsistent at times but he was sure that things would fall into place by the time of the first Test match.

Optimistically, Waugh added that the team had two valuable days of practice before they go into the Test match. He was confident that the team would be able to do well in the Test.