ENG vs AUS: "I'd Be Very Surprised If They Do Go Ahead And Play Him At The Oval" - Ricky Ponting On James Anderson
Published - 26 Jul 2023, 05:47 PM
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Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting picked his England playing XI for the fifth and final Test of the ongoing Ashes series at The Oval in London. Ricky Ponting stated that he will be surprised if veteran pacer James Anderson retains his place in the playing XI for the Ashes finale.
James Anderson underperformed in the ongoing series so far. The right-arm pacer picked up four wickets with an average of 76.75. Anderson was named in the lineup for the first two games before being rested for the third. He picked up just one wicket in the fourth match in Manchester.
More Sentimental Than Anything – Ricky Ponting
Speaking on the ICC Review, Ricky Ponting described James Anderson‘s selection for the fourth Test match as a “sentimental one”.
“So I must admit, I’d be very surprised if they do go ahead and play him at The Oval. If they do, you talk about this selection of Manchester being the sentimental one. I think now if they pick him at the Oval, that will be more sentimental than anything,” Ponting said.
“Because what I saw with Tongue at Lord’s…he was the pick of their bowlers in that Lord’s game and then he’s gone straight back out. So I’d be very surprised if Anderson actually plays this last Test,” he added.
The England selectors named the squad for the final Test match in London, which is set to begin on July 27. The team management retained the same squad for the series finale.
The World Cup-winning captain picked the same batting order for the last test match. Ponting made only one change to the Ben Stokes-led team, replacing James Anderson with young pacer Josh Little, who impressed with his bowling in the second Test at Lord’s.
Ricky Ponting’s Predicted England XI
Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Moeen Ali, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jonny Bairstow, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood, Stuart Broad, Josh Tongue.
