Ponting calls on Australia to make big batting decision for Ashes

1 hour ago 1

Ricky Ponting says Australia should consider moving vice-captain Travis Head up to No.3 to get on the front foot against England for the Ashes, allowing all-rounders Cameron Green and Beau Webster to bat alongside each other at five and six.

Australia’s top six is far from settled a couple of months out from the first Ashes Test, with the selectors wanting to take a look at the early rounds of the Sheffield Shield before making up their minds.

Looking back at his own career, Ponting said that after an apprenticeship in the middle order, senior players should be looking to move up higher, and suggested that Head’s aggressive approach would get the hosts off on the right foot against England.

He also suggested that Sam Konstas should keep his spot at the top of the order alongside Usman Khawaja following a century for Australia A in India last week.

“As a young bloke you used to come into the side as a No.5 or six player and eventually you worked your way up and find yourself in a No.3 spot,” Ponting told SEN on Monday morning.

“So they could think about doing that with Travis Head, they could move him up to No.3.

“The way England play their cricket, to have someone like Travis Head coming in at No.3 and be able to put some pressure back on the likes of Jofra Archer and Mark Wood and these guys ... that’s another way they could look at it if they really want to get on the front foot and try and dominate England through this Ashes summer.”

Over the first six years of his Test career, Ponting batted primarily in the middle order at No.6, making 2492 runs at 42.96 with seven hundreds in 42 matches.

After he was moved to No.3 in place of Justin Langer at the start of the 2001 Ashes, Ponting became a legendary performer, churning out 10886 runs at 54.43 with 34 centuries in 126 Tests.

Over his 60 Tests, 31-year-old Head has made 3963 runs at 41.71 with nine centuries, scoring at nearly 70 runs per 100 balls. The vast majority of those runs have been made at No.5.

Australia’s Travis Head reacts after being caught.

Captain Pat Cummins has repeatedly asserted that Head’s style of play is best suited in the middle order to capitalise on strong starts or counter-attack after a poor one. Ponting backed Konstas and Webster to hold their spots, and made no mention of the recently deposed Marnus Labuschagne.

“Konstas has just done well and made a hundred for Australia A over in India, which is exactly what he needed, so I can see our top order being Konstas and Khawaja,” Ponting said. “I think the fact they’ve moved Green up to No.3 when they did in the Caribbean to me suggested they see him as that long-term No.3.

“Smith will stay at four, Head at five and I would definitely keep Beau at No.6. I can’t see how they could leave Beau out of the side and keep some of the other guys in, that’s how I’m looking at it.”

Running his eye over England, Ponting pointed to No.3 Ollie Pope as the biggest question mark for Ben Stokes’ team, closely followed by the fitness of the captain himself.

“The difference with the two teams is you can probably pick England’s team right now and you probably can’t pick ours,” Ponting said. “There’s only one chink in their armour, and that’s Ollie Pope at No.3. They’ve got young Jacob Bethel who has batted at three for them in the past, that’s one change they could make.

“Ben Stokes is the pivotal one for me, if he’s fit and bowling like I saw him bowling against India, then their whole side looks completely different. He’s probably their best bowler to be honest, he’s got his pace back, he’s fitter than he’s been.

“He’s given up the drink, and he’s really focused on being a long-term all-rounder for England, for as long as he can. If Stokes is fit, if Wood and Archer are, in fact, fit, they will have a really strong attack that will definitely be causing the Aussies a few nervous moments.”

News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport are sent every Monday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.