Reigning champions Australia won the World Cup warm-up encounter by 106 runs at Arnos Vale but Zimbabwe saw out its full 50 overs to close on 7-184.

Unlike England, who blitzed Bermuda for 45 on the same ground a day earlier, Australia's bowlers got a full work-out after Shane Watson and Michael Clarke hit 81 and 82 respectively.

"That was probably a better workout for us than they got the other day," Ponting said, referring to Ashes rivals England.

"During this part of the tournament I think most teams are looking to get some good quality time out in the middle."

"We got through 100 overs today and did a reasonable job: our batting was pretty good in difficult conditions to bat in and in one-day cricket on pitches which are slow and low it can be difficult to bowl teams out."

"It was probably more beneficial that we didn't manage it anyway."

The sluggish surface made for a fairly turgid spectacle and Ponting opted to use eight bowlers.

"Even some of the Zimbabwe slow bowlers did a good job out there," said Ponting, whose team has lost five consecutive one-day internationals before coming here.

"That pitch might have been a bit slower than some of the other ones we get but we've been expecting almost sub-continental type conditions here."

"The more scores we see from other venues will give us an indication of what the wickets are going to be like but we came prepared to be playing on slow ones."

Opposite number Prosper Utseya took heart from a stubborn showing with the bat.

"It shows that we are doing things correctly," Utseya said. "We just did our basics right and that's how we managed to keep them out there."

Sportal