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Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting has expressed skepticism over the English bowlers' ability to take wickets on the flat pitches likely to be prepared for the upcoming Ashes series.
The battle for the Ashes Urn between Australia and England is set to get underway at Edgbaston, Birmingham on Friday, June 16.
There has been speculation about England preferring flatter tracks and smaller boundaries to facilitate their 'Bazball' style of attacking batting. However, Ponting felt the approach could back-fire for the hosts with the ball, especially without pace sensation Jofra Archer and lead spinner Jack Leach.
Speaking to the Times (UK), the two-time World Cup-winning skipper said:
"If England want to play the style that they’ve been playing, I actually think they probably need to have some flattish-type wickets. I’ve heard that they want flat wickets, I’ve heard they want the boundaries brought in. But I think if they do have these flatter wickets, I’d be worried about how they’re going to get 20 Australian wickets a game."
He added:
"With Jofra Archer not being there, without their number one spinner (Leach) being there, if they’re flat, will Stuart Broad, James Anderson and Ollie Robinson be able to have a huge impact on the series?”
Despite Ponting's skepticism, the approach has worked wonders for England over the past couple of years under the captain-coach combination of Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum.
They have won 10 of their last 12 Tests, including comprehensive series wins against New Zealand and South Africa at home and an away clean sweep of Pakistan.
However, England have struggled in their last few series on the flatter Australian pitches, losing 13 of their previous 15 Tests, dating back to their 5-0 walloping in the 2013/14 Ashes.
"The records of some of our top-order batters are not as good here in the UK" - Ricky Ponting
Ricky Ponting also highlighted the Australian top-order's struggles in English conditions, conceding a slight edge in the batting department to the hosts in the upcoming Ashes series.
However, the 48-year-old remained adamant about the visitors' potent bowling attack and its ability to compensate for any batting frailties thanks to their impressive numbers in England.
"The records of some of our top-order batters are not as good here in the UK, but the bowling numbers are all pretty good," Ponting said. "I think England are going to bat really well. I think they’re going to struggle with the ball, and I think if you look at Australia’s attack, Australia’s bowling probably right now has less holes in it than what the batting has."
While Steve Smith had a historic series in Australia's previous tour of England, averaging 110.57 in four Tests, the openers and WTC final hero Travis Head struggled to get going.
Star opener David Warner averaged a paltry 9.50 in five Tests, and his opening partner Usman Khawaja averaged only 20.33 in three matches.
The in-form Travis Head fared slightly better, yet only scored 191 runs at an average of 27.28 in four Tests.
However, the pace duo of Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood were in sensational form with the ball in the series, picking up a combined 49 wickets at an average of 20.53.
Going by current form and historical performances, the upcoming Ashes could come down to the battle between the star-studded Australian bowling attack and the high-octane English batting lineup.
