Former Australian skipper, Ricky Ponting reckons that the Tim Paine-led side will be comparatively fresh before the Ashes as the side would not be playing not many Tests before that. England and Australia will be locking horns with each other in Ashes, beginning December 8 this year. Before that, Australia would play just one Test match against Afghanistan in November.
Talking about the same as per the quotes in cricket.com.au., Ricky Ponting said, “If they get a bit of first-class cricket in and they get that one Test match in against Afghanistan, are you better off going into the Ashes series with not a lot or going in with a lot of Tests. Ashes series are so physically and mentally draining; you might be better off going in with less. But it doesn’t matter what you’re going in with, it’s about what you do in those big moments, as we saw with the India series.”
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Ponting also reckons that Travis Head has it in him to be making a comeback in the Test squad and believes that the left-handed batsman could play a vital role in the Ashes.
Talking about Head, Ricky Ponting said, “He went back to Shield cricket and really started filling his boots and making big scores – that’s what you want to see from those guys, the hunger to get themselves back in the Australian team. I think Travis will play some more Test cricket. But Marcus Harris is someone who can bat there as well, I don’t think he needs to open. I think they’ve just got to work on who their best player is and if it’s Harris, if it’s Head, if it’s Henriques.”
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Talking about the youngsters like Will Pucovski and Cameron Green, Ricky Ponting elaborated, “To have Pucovski and Green come in and start challenging what some of the more experienced guys are doing is great for the team. I like the fact that those younger blokes are there. I liked seeing Pucovski just for that one Test match and I love what Green’s done when he’s gone back to state cricket. He just seems really hungry to score lots of runs there.”
