Oz coach Arthur says lack of Sheffield Shield runs is team's 'achilles heel'

Sydney - Australian coach Mickey Arthur has said the Australian cricket team's weakness is a dearth of runs in the Sheffield Shield tournament.

"Batting is an area that we need to work on - I don't think we're in the same position with our batters as our bowlers," News.com.au quoted Arther, as saying.

"I've been impressed with the new batters we've brought in; Peter Forrest, Davy Warner has had a good year and Eddie Cowan has done a job for us, they've shown they can sustain a career internationally, but I'd like to see our depth bolstered to 10 or 11 instead of 6 or 7," he added.

Arthur cited former captain Ricky Ponting's professionalism and desire as the yardstick for emerging players.

After being dropped from the Australian one-day team, Ponting returned to Shield cricket and made two centuries in three games for Tasmania.

"If you want to take Ricky's batting position, you've got to be doing better than he is. I want to see runs under pressure - first-innings runs, runs when games are there to be won, runs in tough conditions. That's what I need to see from our Sheffield Shield batsmen this year," Arthur pointed out.