Former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting has backed the Aussies to win the Ashes 2021-22 in their own backyard. The Aussies recently won the T20 World Cup and Ponting feels that though England have a good squad but they won’t win the series this time around.
Ben Stokes returns to the England squad which boosts the side’s batting line-up. However, talking to The Grade Cricketer podcast, Ricky Ponting previewed the Ashes series.
“I said for channel seven last week that England can win but they won’t. Their batting looks fragile, technically a lot of their batsmen look different but with Stokes being in their side now, it’s a completely different-looking team. We saw what he did against us last time, he can single-handedly win games.”
Ponting further asked England to take a lesson from India’s trip down under earlier this year.
I Think Australia Will Win: Ricky Ponting
“I think Australia will win and win well, but I still have little doubt in the back of my mind because of last summer. We felt that our bowlers would knock over the Indian batters, and their bowlers weren’t good enough to get our batters out. But that wasn’t the way it worked out last year. And it just shows the grit and determination shown by Indians. If England can do something like that and if their technical things can be worked out and worked over by their mental side of their game then they have a chance to win. But Australia will start as favorites.”
Ponting however said that the current crop of Australian players have failed to rise to the occasion and handle pressure during crunch situations.
“Unlike Australian teams of the past, the current side isn’t able to handle the pressure or rise during nervous situations. They just are not able to get across the winning line be it Headingley where Stokes pulled it off or against India in Sydney where Vihari and Ashwin stood tall.”
The previous Ashes series, played in England in 2019, ended in a draw. The series will commence on December 8 at the Gabba in Brisbane.
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