‘England should expect whitewash in Ashes’ opines Ricky Ponting
Despite losing the first Test against one of the weakest teams that Pakistan have ever produced in the last 15 years, Ricky Ponting still believes that his team is capable of whitewashing England when both sides meet each other for the Ashes in Australia, later this year. Rick Ponting is under immense criticism after his side lost to Pakistan in England which many still find hard to believe. Though not convincingly beaten by Salman Butt’s young team at Headingley, Leeds, the Aussies did crumble to a total of 88 in the first innings which lead to their demise.
Some critics have even labelled current Australian squad as the ‘weakest in decades’. Even under such pressure, Ponting is optimistic of his side’s chances against an in-form and confident England.
Ricky Ponting believes that it is within the limit of his team to beat England 5-0 in this year’s Ashes in Australia. But why is that so? According to Ponting, Australia has learnt from their past mistakes and will be well prepared against the English on their soil. Ponting, who defeated England 5-0 four years ago, is hopeful that hihttp://www.senore.com/Cricket/S-Young-c87719 team will repeat this extraordinary feat later this year. Australia lost the last Ashes 2-1 in England despite seizing the initiative by winning the opening Test. Since then they have performed strongly with the exception of a drawn series against Pakistan in England. The Headingley defeat was Australia’s first defeat since they lost a test in the Ashes but their record and form at home is impregnable.
Australia will be further boosted by the return of their first-choice players after they have successfully recouped from their respective injuries. Brad Haddin, Australia’s wicket-keeper, should return for the first Test at the Gabba whereas off spinner Nathan Hauritz and fast bowler Peter Siddle are also expected to return after recovering from back stress fractures respectively. Commenting on the upcoming Ashes, Ponting said, “It's absolutely possible. There's no reason why not. It's all in our hands. It's how well we play and how well we take charge of different situations. We've learnt from a lot of the mistakes that we've made. There's no doubt we made some mistakes in the last Ashes series.”
According to Ponting, his team is more experienced and prepared than last time. Coupled with the advantage of playing at home, The Aussie captain expects a comfortable and convincing win for the home side. Ponting believes that batting collapses were the main reason for his team’s defeat in the last Ashes which will not be allowed this time round.
On the other hand, England is in superb form off late as they showed it by crushing http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 which will allow them to fine-tune their preparations for the big series.
England’s recent form has been steered by their pace attack which consist of Steve Finn, James Anderson and Stuart Broad. Commenting on them, Ponting said, “James Anderson and Stuart Broad and those guys have really stepped up. They are coming together well as a team. We have to make sure at the end of the Indian tour that we have got everything in place to make sure that we're ultra-competitive against them.” Some analyst argue that http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 does not need to be wary of England’s bowling unit as bowlers like Anderson and Broad could only move and seam the ball in favourable conditions, which means that they may find difficulty in adapting to Australian conditions. Ponting is also aware of this fact and he believes that his team will be successful in managing them. He said, “They certainly have bowled well and they've had great conditions to bowl in as well, the English. We'll have a different set of conditions and a different ball when they come out here and I'm sure our guys will equip themselves really well. They've got no one there who's going to surprise us at all.”
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