Ricky Ponting praises England's bowling display on day two of first Ashes Test
Friday 10 July 2015 06:22, UK
Ricky Ponting felt a ‘magnificent’ bowling performance meant England had the better of day two of the opening Investec Ashes Test.
Australia finished the second day of play of 264-5, a deficit of 166 runs from England’s first-innings score of 430.
Adam Voges lost his wicket in the final 10 minutes of the final session when he was caught by James Anderson off Ben Stokes, a dismissal which exposed the tail end of the batting order and brought Nathan Lyon to the crease as nightwatchman.
Shane Watson is unbeaten on 29 and with Brad Haddin still to bat, some firepower remains in the Baggy Greens line-up.
Former Australia skipper Ponting feels the next two partnerships will be critical to the balance of the match.
I thought Anderson and particularly Stokes were magnificent late in the day when there wasn’t much happening.
“England probably had the better of the Australians,” he said. “They just edged them on the first day but after today, Australia are five down and 166 runs in appears and need to bat very well in these next two partnerships if they want to even think about getting a first-innings lead.
“I thought (James) Anderson and particularly (Ben) Stokes were magnificent late in the day when there wasn’t much happening and they put pressure on the batsmen.
“They pretty much all played rash shots with the exception of (David) Warner; I don’t think any of them will be happy with the shots they got out with.
“You have to credit the bowlers for those dismissals. They built up pressure through line and length and I don’t think it’s a concern but they will have to work their backsides off to get back into this game.”
And he added: “Australia have just got to chip away now and get close to that first-innings total set by England.”
Moeen Ali took two wickets to stem the Aussie tide, while Anderson (1-36) dismissed Warner and Mark Wood claimed the prize wicket of Chris Rogers (95) five runs short of his century.
Ponting gave a glowing review of the England bowlers but also praised the imagination shown by skipper Alistair Cook on day two.
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