Ashes 2015: Ricky Ponting says Australia have to get better
Sunday 12 July 2015 16:53, UK
Ricky Ponting says Australia need to improve both their attitude and skill level if they are to bounce back from defeat in the opening Investec Ashes Test.
The tourists were beaten by 169 runs at Cardiff as England took a 1-0 lead into the series, which now moves to Lord’s on Thursday.
Ponting acknowledged that the result of the first Test does not always have a bearing on the other four, citing the win Australia scored in 2005 before an eventual 2-1 series win for England.
But the former Australia skipper says his former team cannot afford to again play as poorly as they did in south Wales.
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“We won the first Test at in 2005 and then lost the series so it can change quickly but it’s up to Australia to turn up with the right attitude and the right skill set to get the job done,” he told Sky Sports News HQ.
“Their inability to bounce back from a little hiccup in the game cost them. England got on top early in the game, Joe Root played a sensational innings, and Australia weren’t able to wrestle back the initiative from there.
“They weren’t able to get the big partnerships that England got in their innings and I think we all knew that when there was a first-innings deficit that Australia would find it hard to win from there.
“England’s batting in the second innings was impressive, they tried to get to a 400 lead as quickly as possible and that is a good sign for this team.
“It’s been pretty flawless cricket from England.”
One of the major mistakes made by Australia came during England’s first innings when wicket-keeper Brad Haddin dived to catch Joe Root behind for what would have been nought.
It was only the second ball Root had face but Haddin put it down and the batsman went on to make 134 in a man-of-the-match performance.
Ponting played down the importance of the error and felt it was just one of several small mistakes Australia made over the course of the match.
“Those things happen and it’s all about how you respond from that,” he said. “Root was very aggressive after that and Australia didn’t really have an answer to that.
“It’s about creating the next chance from there and Australia didn’t do that. Ashes series are generally won by little moments and they all add up.
“Australia made a lot of little mistakes throughout this game.”
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