The Ashes 2021-22: I Think Australia Will Win And Win Well - Ricky Ponting
Former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting is convinced that the Aussies will win the Ashes 2021 series quite comfortably as England’s batting is extremely fragile. Apart from Joe Root, there hasn’t been any major contribution from others in this calendar year as of yet.
However, depending only on Root is a cause for concern but the return of Ben Stokes does add a bit more teeth to the lineup. Stokes’ indefinite break ended after the ECB announced that he made himself available for the Ashes which will begin in December.
“I said for channel seven last week that England can win but they won’t. Their batting looks fragile, technically a lot of their batsmen look different but with Stokes being in their side now, it’s a completely different-looking team. We saw what he did against us last time, he can single-handedly win games.“
“I think Australia will win and win well, but I still have little doubt in the back of my mind because of last summer. We felt that our bowlers would knock over the Indian batters, and their bowlers weren’t good enough to get our batters out. But that wasn’t the way it worked out last year. And it just shows the grit and determination shown by Indians. If England can do something like that and if their technical things can be worked out and worked over by their mental side of their game then they have a chance to win. But Australia will start as favorites,” Ponting said on The Grade Cricketer podcast.
“Unlike Australian teams of past, current side isn’t able to handle pressure” – Ricky Ponting
Ricky Ponting also mentioned that the current squad led by Tim Paine doesn’t quite have the killer instinct yet and struggles to deal with crunch situations. He cited two examples where the Aussies crumbled against a fightback they didn’t expect.
“Unlike Australian teams of the past, the current side isn’t able to handle the pressure or rise during nervous situations. They just are not able to get across the winning line be it Headingley where Stokes pulled it off or against India in Sydney where Vihari and Ashwin stood tall,” Ponting further added.
The series will begin at the Gabba in Brisbane and will move to Adelaide for the second Test.
