"England can win the Ashes but they won't, Australia will start as favorites" - Ricky Ponting

Former Australia skipper Ricky Ponting recently gave his predictions for the upcoming 2021 Ashes. He believes England are capable of winning the series, but they won't. Ponting then claimed Australia would be starting the Ashes as favorites.

England's fragile batting department has been a cause for concern for some time now. But Ben Stokes' return will certainly boost their batting line-up for the Ashes.

Speaking on The Grade Cricketer podcast, Ricky Ponting previewed the 2021 Ashes, saying:

"I said for channel seven last week that England can win but they won't. Their batting looks fragile, technically a lot of their batsmen look different but with Stokes being in their side now, it's a completely different-looking team. We saw what he did against us last time, he can single-handedly win games."

Ponting then talked about how England can take a leaf out of India's staggering performance against Australia last summer. Speaking about his apprehensions of Australia's chances, Ponting said:

"I think Australia will win and win well, but I still have little doubt in the back of my mind because of last summer. We felt that our bowlers would knock over the Indian batters, and their bowlers weren't good enough to get our batters out. But that wasn't the way it worked out last year. And it just shows the grit and determination shown by Indians. If England can do something like that and if their technical things can be worked out and worked over by their mental side of their game then they have a chance to win. But Australia will start as favorites."

The previous Ashes series, played in England in 2019, ended in a draw. The series will commence on December 8 at the Gabba in Brisbane.

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The current Australian side isn't able to handle pressure or rise during nervous situations: Ricky Ponting

Ponting also reckoned that the current crop of Australian players have failed to rise to the occasion and handle pressure during crunch situations.

In this regard, Ricky Ponting said:

"Unlike Australian teams of the past, the current side isn't able to handle the pressure or rise during nervous situations. They just are not able to get across the winning line be it Headingley where Stokes pulled it off or against India in Sydney where Vihari and Ashwin stood tall."

Overall, Australia and England have competed in 71 Ashes series so far. Australia hold a slight edge over their arch-rivals, winning 33. England, on the other hand, emerged victorious on 32 occasions. Six of those series ended in draws.