Australia captain Ricky Ponting insists he is satisfied with Brett Lee's progress despite his show against West Indies.

Brett Lee, in his second international match since undergoing ankle surgery during the last New Year period, was hit for 56 runs from four overs at The Oval as Australia slumped to defeat in their ICC World Twenty20 opener.

His only wicket was that of West Indies captain Chris Gayle but not before the hard-hitting left-hander had blasted a whirlwind 88.

At the height of his belligerence Gayle, who swiped six sixes and six fours, smashed Lee for 26 in one over.

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Commentating for the BBC, former Australian Test paceman Geoff Lawson said Lee's inability to swing the ball was reminiscent of his listless performance in last summer's Test series against South Africa.

Going in right direction

But Ponting backed his veteran speedster, saying he saw enough during the practice matches last week to be encouraged.

"He obviously got taken down a little bit but I don't think it mattered who was bowling to Chris in the sort of mood he was in," he said.

"I'm happy with the way he's coming along."

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Ponting was also pleased with the form of Shane Watson, who bowled his first overs in a match since hurting his back last summer.

Watson conceded 13 runs from two overs but bowled with good speed and fluency.

Watch out for Watson

"He got through pretty well I thought," Ponting said.

"He'll just get better and better the more overs he gets under his belt. The more he bowls to better players as well he'll benefit from that a lot. He gives us great flexibility."

Another positive for Ponting was the mature 63 from opener David Warner, who in his short career has cultivated a boom or bust reputation.

Warner was forced to rein in his explosive strokeplay after the loss of early wickets.

Making the most of the opportunity

Ponting said Warner would most likely not have played had Andrew Symonds not been sent home.

"We were looking at doing some slightly different things with our team in this game if Symmo had have been in the middle order there," he said.

"But he wasn't so it was good for David that chance at the top of the order to score and I think he showed everybody just how good he can be in this form of the game."

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