logo
Ricky Ponting gives his views on who should open for Australia in Ashes 2025

Ricky Ponting gives his views on who should open for Australia in Ashes 2025

Indian Express7 days ago
It has been a while since David Warner retired from Test cricket, and Australia are yet to find a long-term replacement for the southpaw. They did try their hand with Nathan McSweeney during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy but quickly moved on to young Sam Konstas. Apart from his blistering innings at Melbourne on Boxing Day, Konstas did find it hard to create the same impact at the international stage as he did at the domestic level. In the recently concluded Test series against the West Indies, the teenager struggled even more, which opened up the debate of who needs to open in the Ashes 2025 later Down Under.
'The batters that they're talking about in the last couple of weeks in particular have been Sam Konstas and Usman Khawaja, and then there was some talk about Cameron Green, whether he's a long-term number three or not,' Former Australian cricketer Ricky Ponting said on the ICC Review. 'Green's second innings in the West Indies might have put that to bed. As tough as the conditions were, the way he batted might have silenced a few of those critics,' he said.
'I read a really interesting piece by Robert Craddock about how they tried to protect Sam from the Sri Lanka tour, thinking the Caribbean would be easier. But it turned out the pitches in Sri Lanka were better for batting and the West Indies surfaces were tough,' Ponting explained.
'That last match where the West Indies were bowled out for 27 – that's not just world-class bowling, that's also about the surface and conditions,' he added. 'The unfortunate thing about Test cricket is that, when you're a young player, you often have to work things out yourself – in the middle,' Ponting said. 'Practice, coaching, advice, they all help, but finding a method that works for you happens out there in real match situations,' he concluded.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

IND vs ENG: ‘There is absolutely no reason why he will not go past Tendulkar': Ricky Ponting backs Joe Root to break Sachin's record
IND vs ENG: ‘There is absolutely no reason why he will not go past Tendulkar': Ricky Ponting backs Joe Root to break Sachin's record

Indian Express

time36 minutes ago

  • Indian Express

IND vs ENG: ‘There is absolutely no reason why he will not go past Tendulkar': Ricky Ponting backs Joe Root to break Sachin's record

While England Batsman Joe Root scored his 38th Test century on the third day of the Manchester Test against India on Friday, the 34-year-old also surpassed Ricky Ponting (13,378 runs), Jacques Kallis (13,289 runs) and Rahul Dravid (13,288 runs) in the list of leading run-scorers in Test cricket. The England batsman is now only 2512 runs behind Sachin Tendulkar's record of 15,921 runs. While Tendulkar made the record playing 200 Tests, Root has become the second-highest run scorer in Tests with a total of 13,409 runs in 157 Tests, and former Australian captain Ricky Ponting believes he sees no reason why Root cannot break Tendulkar's record. 'Magnificent from Joe Root. This is a great moment in history. The way his career has gone, there is absolutely no reason why he will not go past Tendulkar. He is elegant, stylish, hungry. He has made it clear he is not one for stats and you are not when you are playing, but when you finish you can be proud of what you have achieved,' Ponting told Sky Sports. Root scored his second century in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy on Friday. He had scored his first century of the series at Lord's earlier in the series and Friday's hundred meant that he matched Kumar Sangakarra's mark of 38 Test centuries with only Sachin Tendulkar (51), Ricky Ponting (45) and Jacques Kallis (41) ahead of him in terms of number of Test centuries. Friday's hundred was also Root's 12 Test century against India and the England batsman also broke Steve Smith's earlier record of most Test centuries against India (11). Root's former team-mate, Stuart Broad too, sees the England batsman breaking further records in Test cricket. 'He played beautifully today to go past Rahul Dravid, Jacques Kallis and Ricky Ponting [and become the second-highest run-scorer in Test cricket], bringing up another hundred that he will hope wins the game. I was out for dinner with him last night and he was incredibly relaxed, enjoying his cricket, and there are certainly no signs of him stopping. He has a huge hunger for scoring runs,' Broad told Sky Sports. Earlier, former England captain Michael Atherton had also out his faith into Root to break Sachin Tendulkar's record of 15,921 runs. 'Wherever Joe Root finishes, say, for example, he went past Sachin. I'm not so sure anybody will go past that just because of the nature of the way the game is going. People will play fewer Test matches, I would imagine, in the years to come,' Atherton had said on commentary on the second day of the Manchester Test.

"Jasprit Bumrah Hasn't Got That...": Michael Vaughan's Sly Dig At India Star Amid Struggles In Manchester Test
"Jasprit Bumrah Hasn't Got That...": Michael Vaughan's Sly Dig At India Star Amid Struggles In Manchester Test

NDTV

time38 minutes ago

  • NDTV

"Jasprit Bumrah Hasn't Got That...": Michael Vaughan's Sly Dig At India Star Amid Struggles In Manchester Test

India pacer Jasprit Bumrah has looked like the shadow of a player he is in the ongoing 4th Test against England in Manchester, feels former Three Lions captain Michael Vaughan. Bumrah, who has bowled 28 overs so far in the match, managed to pick up just one wicket while also conceding close to 100 runs. While analysing his bowling, Vaughan claimed that Bumrah has lacked the cutting edge that he showed in the 3rd Test at Lord's. He also compared Bumrah's bowling to England's Jofra Archer and Ben Stokes, saying that India's pace spearhead has failed to make the most of the track at Old Trafford. "I have to say Jasprit Bumrah has looked okay and playable today. He hasn't got that oomph that he got out of the surface at Lord's when he bowled that incredible spell and it's the pace that Bumrah is not able to generate, unlike Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer," Vaughan told the BBC. Despite his poor show with the ball in Manchester so far, Bumrah completed a huge milestone. On Day 3, Bumrah completed 50 Test wickets in England, becoming only the third Asian bowler to achieve the same after Wasim Akram (53) and Ishant Sharma (51). He now has 50 wickets in 12 matches, averaging 26.38 and an economy rate of just 2.79. He also has 4 wicket hauls to under his name. Bumrah finished the day 3 of the fourth Test with 15 overs bowled, 48 runs conceded, and just one wicket of wicketkeeper Jamie Smith to show for. His overall spell reads 1/95 in 28 overs, taking into account his bowling on day two. Despite being the third-highest wicket-taker in the series with 13 scalps in five innings at an average of 26.69, with two five-wicket hauls, the numbers still look underwhelming as he was coming back to Tests after a long injury lay-off, which happened during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024/25 against Australia away from home, during which he took a record-shattering 32 wickets at an average of 13.06, with two four-fers and three five-wicket hauls to his name.

DC Open 2025: Top seed Fritz falls in quarterfinals
DC Open 2025: Top seed Fritz falls in quarterfinals

The Hindu

timean hour ago

  • The Hindu

DC Open 2025: Top seed Fritz falls in quarterfinals

US top seed Taylor Fritz dropped an early Saturday morning marathon to Spain's Alejandro Davidovich-Fokina in the semifinals of the ATP DC Open. World number four Fritz, two points from victory in the ninth game, dropped the last five games in falling to the 26th-ranked Spaniard 7-6 (7/3), 3-6, 7-5 after three hours and five minutes in a match ending just before 2:00 am. Davidovich-Fokina advanced to a Saturday semifinal against US fourth seed Ben Shelton, who beat sixth-seeded hometown hero Frances Tiafoe 7-6 (7/2), 6-4. Fritz, who had 20 aces and six double faults, served for the match in the ninth and was up 30-0 but lost, then failed to take advantage of three double faults by Davidovich-Fokina in the 10th game. The other men's semifinal will send French lucky loser Corentin Moutet against Australian seventh seed Alex De Minaur, who eliminated American Brandon Nakashima 6-4, 6-4. Moutet withstood leg cramps to eliminate eighth seed Daniil Medvedev 1-6, 6-4, 6-4. 'I tried to survive every point because it was hard physically,' Moutet said after fighting off leg cramps. 'I'm just proud of myself.'

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store