Ricky Ponting discusses worst Ashes nightmare after Brisbane

Ricky Ponting, a legendary batsman, believes England is in danger of losing the present Ashes series 5-0 against Australia. The Kangaroos defeated the Three Lions in the first match of the five-match series by nine wickets at The Gabba in Brisbane. As a result, they have fallen 0-1 in the five-match series. Betting in India will surely favour the Aussies.

It took the combined efforts of Joe Root and Dawid Malan to get the visitors back into the cricket match. On the other hand, Ponting said that Root and his teammates had the most excellent chance of victory in Brisbane since the circumstances at the venue were comparable to those seen in England.

The story of the first game and how Australia grabbed the advantage?

“For Australia, the situation is only going to get better from here. In Brisbane, the weather conditions (in Brisbane) were extremely similar to those in England. There was more speed and bounce, but as far as their bowling is concerned, they’re probably not going to get that much movement anyplace else for the remainder of the series,” according to Ponting, who was cited in cricket.com.au.

The second Test will be contested at the Adelaide Oval from Thursday, December 16 to Sunday. It will be a day-night event. Ponting predicted that if England fails to go over the line in the next match, they might be in for a series whitewash against the West Indies. “If they don’t win in Adelaide, there might be echoes of the 2006/07 season,” he said.

The Ashes series in 2006-07 turned out to be a complete catastrophe for the Three Lions. All five Tests in the series were one-sided affairs, with the hosts displaying overwhelming superiority throughout.

Ricky Ponting believes that Jhye Richardson is in excellent form.

As a result of Josh Hazlewood’s injury, Ponting believes that Jhye Richardson should play in the second Test against New Zealand. The fast bowler from the Perth Scorchers would be competing against Michael Neser for a spot in the starting eleven. Even though he believes Neser will not be the worst of the choices, Ponting has confidence in Richardson to make the team.

“It is clear that Richardson was on the verge of replacing Starc in this Test. He’s in excellent shape. I would put him ahead of Neser in terms of an all-around bowling package when the ball is not swinging and seaming. While Neser enjoys in the swinging, seaming conditions that he experiences at the Gabba – and which he may experience at some point in Adelaide – I still believe Richardson gets the nod,” Ponting said.

What next for this Ashes series, which team will win it at the end?

The home side has a huge advantage in the series so far. After winning the first game of the series rather comfortably, they have the advantage in the second match too. The batting side of the team has put up a great performance once again and shifted the momentum of the game in favour of the Aussies.

The likes of David Warner, Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith all scored big runs to propel their team to a 473/9 in the first innings of the second game of this five-match series. The trio added more than half the runs scored by the same, with some of the other players chipping in too.

England did not bat well in the first innings of the opening Ashes Test and will want to rectify that. Though they did put in a decent performance in the second innings, it was too little too late to salvage anything from the match, which was eventually won by the hosts that took a 1-0 lead in the series.

With that being said, the series is still open to twists and turns and things can go in favour of either side. There could still be a fight back from the visitors who are not the favourites at present. Steve Smith (acting captain) will want to get the job done by winning this second Test.

If the home side does win this second game, it will be rather quite tough for Joe Root and co. to get back into the series. Let’s wait and watch how things develop now in this cricket match.