‘Still in awe’: Ricky Ponting left tough ahead of England pick in first ash test
England lost its first 2021 Ashes test by 9 signs.© AFP
Australia awarded England a nine-goal throw in the first Ash Test at Gabba to lead 1-0 in a five-match series. Australia proved to be superior to the guests from the first day when England had to fall in both rounds to surrender gently to Brisbane. The match saw the return of England’s talisman Ben Stokes, but the all-rounder looks rusty and makes almost no impact. England’s selection for the First Ashes Test also left both veteran pacers James Anderson and Stuart Broad out of the active squad. Talk about that former captain of Australia Ricky Ponting said he was still “stumbling” over the decision.
He decided to go ahead with three pacers and one camera with Ollie Robinson, Mark Wood and Chris Woakes getting nods to Broad and Anderson while Jack Leach was the sole cameraman on the team.
Leach was crushed by the Australian smashers in the first rounds.
“I can’t understand why they’d let them (Broad and Anderson) go if they weren’t ready and ready for Adelaide,” Ponting is quoted by cricket.com.au.
“I’m still wobbly to this point. If Stuart Broad and James Anderson weren’t better Australian bowlers than Chris Woakes, I wouldn’t be here. One of those two would have had to compete. .
“It is possible that they will only play either Broad or Anderson in Adelaide. Much of that may depend on how Stokes trains between now and the start of the match in Adelaide,” said the former Australian cricketer. added.
Anderson and Broad have 1,156 test rackets between them, making them the most successful bowling pair in world cricket by some distance. He certainly felt their absence in the Opening Test against Australia pretty much kept them out of the game in the first innings.
Travis Head and David Warner are the top scorers for Australia. Head scored a stunning 152 with just 148 balls while Warner scored 94 as Australia amassed 425 in the first half to take a one-game lead.
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Joe Root and Dawid Malan led England’s showdown on Day 3, and it looks like the guests are back in contention. But Australia blew them away on Day 4 with cameraman Nathan Lyon playing a key role.
England fans will be hoping their team get their XI playing right away in the Second Test which starts on 16 December at the Adelaide Oval.
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