Ponting not happy with Ashes preparation
Australia cricket captain Ricky Ponting says playing two tests against India is not ideal preparation for his team ahead of the Ashes.
Australia have just come out of a test series against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 having drawn 1-1 and they will now face the very difficult task of going to India before flying home to take on England at the end of November.
Ponting is not afraid to air his views in public and the recent run of inconsistent results seems to be getting the better of him. The only way for http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 to win back the Ashes is to have a very balanced and settled side before the five match series.
However, playing India in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 is going to be very different from playing England in Australia. There are going to be many differences that Australia will have to quickly eradicate if they want to beat England this winter.
The Differences
The main difference between playing India and England is that Australia will have to mix up their side when they play in India. This may mean they have to play an extra spinner on the Indian pitches and this is certainly not something they would do against England playing on the wickets of Australia.
The Indian series means that there will be no chance for players in the side to settle because they do not know if they will keep their place. If a second spinner does very well then one of the seamers may have to make way when they took their place against England for granted.
Ponting said: "If you were trying to set down and map your perfect preparation for an Ashes series or a home series, it probably wouldn't be playing two Test matches in India. But you don't live in an ideal world. That's the way international cricket is these days. We'll go over there and do whatever we can, play the best cricket we possibly can."
Eye Opener
Some cricket pundits have predicted that an intense little series against India could work out to be beneficial for Australia. They looked very weak against not the greatest of Pakistan sides and the atmosphere around a test match in India could give the side the lift they need ahead of a tough Ashes series.
There is no doubt that India will be all over any team that plays them like a rash, especially when they are playing in their own country. This will force Ponting and Australia to raise their game. The only real knock to Ashes preparation this series can have is the geographical logistics involved.
Ponting added: "What the conditions probably do throw up over there is the likelihood of maybe having to tinker with the setup in your team. We'll wait and see who we've got that's fit and ready to go for that tour and pick a squad of players we think can win a Test series over there, and then worry about the start of the Ashes after that."
Advice
The Aussies hurt when they do not play well and even more so when they lose. It's fair to say that the current Aussie team is one of the weaker ones in recent times and a lot of people are going to be wary about backing them to beat India and even more so to win back the Ashes against one of the best England sides in the last decade.
You can always be sure that Ponting will grit his teeth and fight hard. Back him to score a ton in India because he always rises to the challenge when his team are up against it.
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