Ponting's side is over-rated - Ian Chappell

Ian Chappell, the former captain, thinks Australia have been over-rated as the game's greatest outfit because they lean too heavily on Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne. Speaking to the Herald Sun Chappell said they are "a very good side with two great bowlers", but were currently hindered by over-confident batsmen such as Matthew Hayden.

"Crunch time will be when Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne move on," he said. "That is when this Australia side will really feel the pinch. Without McGrath in this second Test, Australia were not able to have any control and England just went berserk."

Chappell, who led Australia to a drawn series in England in '72 and a 1-0 win in '75, said he never believed the hype that this was Test cricket's best side. "The batting has let them down," he said. "They are a very good team with two great bowlers. You will always be in with a chance of winning games in such a situation."

In the opening two Tests Hayden struggled to curb his aggression and Chappell said he paid the penalty. "We have seen a side that is very good against some average attacks, but this is the first time for a while they have come up against a really good attack," he said. "They have usually had their own way and got over-confident. Hayden has got into that way of thinking. He is so used to smashing the ball around that he hasn't made the adjustment."

Chappell said Hayden needed to say: "This is not the kind of attack I have been facing, this one I should respect more." In the first innings Hayden suffered his first golden duck in Tests and after making 31 in the second extended his streak without a century to 14 matches.