Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting says England openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett will hold the key when they travel Down Under later this year.
Ponting arrived in England last month for commentary duties for the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, which ended 2-2 after a rousing final Test at The Oval. Towards the end of the series, some attention naturally turned towards the 2025-26 Ashes – England's next Test assignment.
There has been much speculation over the make-up of England's bowling attack when they travel to Australia, with suggestions that a frontline spinner may not even be required, and speculation over the fitness of the likes of Mark Wood and Jofra Archer. Chris Woakes's shoulder injury at The Oval has only added to their headaches.
Read more: Ponting: Shoaib Bashir should be England's frontline spinner for every game in Australia
Ponting: England have a good chance if Crawley and Duckett can set things up
England's first innings in the Oval Test saw opening pair Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett put on 92 at more than run-a-ball to put England on the front foot, before India fought back.
“I think they can [play a similar way in Australia], and they will definitely try,” Ponting told The Times. “It’s the way they naturally play and it’s the way the coaches and captain want them to play. It’s the way they need to play – it just sets up everything for England, putting immediate pressure back on the bowlers.
“You [the fielding side] have to adapt really quickly, and that’s where India have let themselves down a bit. They haven’t been quick enough to adjust.
“They probably hold the key in Australia. If they can bat really well at the top, and set things up, that will give them a good chance in the series.”
Since the coach-captain duo of McCullum and Stokes took over the England Test team in May 2022, Crawley and Duckett are the only opening pair in Test cricket to score over 2,000 runs. Their average of 46.5 is the second-highest among opening pairs with at least 500 runs, behind Nishan Madushka and Dimuth Karunaratne (740 runs @ 49.33).
'More uncertainty about the Australian line-up'
“There’s probably more uncertainty about the Australian line-up,” Ponting added on the home team for the Ashes. “They’ve been talking at home about how important the first few rounds of Sheffield Shield cricket are going to be for those top-order batters. The bowling group will look after itself.”
“Marnus [Labuschagne] will be in the mix and they might go back to him as an opener if it doesn’t work out for [Sam] Konstas, or even [Usman] Khawaja, in the early rounds of Shield cricket. Cameron Green is back in the side at three and is bowling again, although I’m not sure how much they’ll want him to do. With Beau Webster in the side, they don’t really need him as much as they used to. Australia are going to have a lot of options with the ball.”
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