Ponting poised to discover fate

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Ponting pulled a hamstring muscle during Tuesday's defeat against Pakistan, the first time he has suffered such an injury in his career, to prompt speculation that he will miss the remainder of the tournament.

According to a team spokesman, Ponting remains "extremely doubtful" for the remainder of the competition, which ends with the final in Johannesburg on Monday, but Australian team officials are not ruling him out entirely for another two days.

He will certainly miss Thursday morning's match against Sri Lanka, which is a game both sides must win to guarantee qualification for this weekend's semi-finals, but a further decision about his participation will not be made for another 48 hours to see how he responds to treatment.

Australian medical officials normally estimate a player being sidelined for around 10 days for this type of injury and if Ponting fails to recover, it would be a significant blow to their hopes of adding the World Twenty20 trophy to the World Cup and Champions Trophy already in their possession.

Physiotherapist Alex Kountouris had earlier been pessimistic about Ponting's ability to return ahead of schedule and even put his participation in the forthcoming one-day series in India in doubt, which starts in Bangalore on September 29.

The most likely replacement for Ponting in Australia's line-up against Sri Lanka at Newlands is all-rounder Shane Watson, who has only just returned from injury himself.