Ricky Ponting criticised Australia’s unusually defensive fields on the first morning of the 2023 Ashes at Edgbaston.
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Zak Crawley set the tone for England after Ben Stokes won the toss and chose to bat first, crunching the first ball of the day through cover-point for four. Australia captain Pat Cummins soon responded, taking a man out of the slip cordon and putting him on the boundary fence. In the third over, Australia had just the two slips but three men on the boundary.
Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting was critical of the defensive nature of the Australia fields.
“It’s really important for Australia right through this series to make sure that when they start any spell with the ball, they have to start at full tilt,” said Ponting on the Sky Sports Cricket coverage.
“There can’t be any warm-up balls, there can’t be any looseners. They have to understand that this England batting unit is going to come after them, they are going to go hard. Make sure you’re ready and bowl the best ball at the start of your spell.
“They’ve gone defensive straightaway. I must admit, I’m not a huge fan of that deep backward point as a starting option. Cummins’ best ball is too easily scored off there as far as I’m concerned.
“Yes the bad ball might get cut, or square driven through backward point. But you’ve got to be able to protect yourself, protect your good ball and keep the batsman on strike. If the scoreboard continually ticks over, batsmen never feel under pressure at all. With that deep point field, where are you expected to bowl? Are you expected to bowl without protection?”
Australia picked up the early wicket of Ben Duckett through Josh Hazlewood, but they were run ragged in the opening hour, with England reaching 66-1 after 13 overs at the first drinks break with three, and sometimes four, fielders regularly stationed on the boundary.
Ponting was also unconvinced by the decision to omit Mitchell Starc. With Hazlewood fit again, Australia had a decision to make – one of Hazlewood, Starc or Boland had to make away. Ultimately, they decided to leave out Starc for Hazlewood who before the wicket of Duckett had gone four years without taking a Test wicket overseas.
On the decision to leave out Starc, Ponting said: “I must admit I was a little surprised. Mitchell Starc wasn’t at his best last week, there’s no doubt about that. He was three months without games leading into that game, as was Pat Cummins, who also looked a little out of his rhythm.
“But the reason I thought Hazlewood would probably miss out, the fact he’s only played four Test matches in the last two years, and that left-arm option on this sort of wicket. You look at the outfield, there are some dry patches, you look at that dry wicket block – I think at some stage in this game the ball will reverse-swing. And no doubt in my mind Starc with that variation, with some reverse-swing could have offered more late in the game.”
