Veteran Australia batter Ricky Ponting backed young off-spinner Todd Murphy to retain his place in the playing XI for the Manchester Test despite his poor show at Headingley. 22-year-old Murphy picked up only one wicket in the third Ashes 2023 Test at Headingley, which Australia lost by three wickets as well.

Speaking on the ICC Review Show, Ponting said: “I’ve got no doubt that he stays in the side. And I think when they get the chance, when Pat gets the chance, he might look at getting him into the game a little bit earlier next time. Look, Pat is still fairly young in the job. Let’s not forget that he’s only been doing it for a couple of years now and I’m sure he’s learning along the way.”

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Meanwhile, Pat Cummins has led Australia in 18 Test matches so far, winning 10 and losing four of them as well.  While many experts have raised questions over Cummins’ leadership in the ongoing Ashes, Ponting said that he would wait till the end of the series so that the assessment becomes fair. The fourth Ashes 2023 Test will begin at Old Trafford in Manchester on Wednesday, July 19.

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“I’m not going to question Pat at all. The fact that Australia are 2-1 up says he’s done a good job to me. There’ll always be little things in a game. When you lose, there are always little things in a game that people are happy to talk about,” Ricky Ponting concluded: “At the end of the day, I think the tactics are better off waiting to see what the result is at the end of the series and then we’ll be able to critique both captains on the result.”