England and Australia are all set to lock horns against each other in the much-anticipated Ashes series, which is scheduled to begin on November 21.

Ahead of the series, former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting has shared a piece of advice by saying that England need to set the momentum of the match as early as possible to defeat the Aussies.

“They will come here well prepared. They`ll have a good team, I think, to compete in Australia. The ultra-aggressive nature of the way they play, I think, it`s only ever been designed to stand up and beat Australia in Australia. That`s the reason that they`re playing this brand is they know that they`ll have to play that way in Australia to win,” Ponting said as quoted from ICC.

He also pointed out that the “Three Lions” have come victorious on just four occasions in Tests in Australia this century, and will need to turn history in order to secure a win in the series.

“Now they`ve only won four Test matches in Australia this century. So they are going to have to turn history on its head to win a series here,” said Ponting.

“Australia will start as favourites, you know, and what`s said in the press and leading up doesn`t matter one bit. It`s what you, it`s how you turn up and how you`re ready to play for that first morning in Perth and that can sometimes dictate the way the whole series goes,” he added.

The former cricketer also said that the Englishmen need to set the momentum in the initial phase of the match to move the game in your favour.

“You`ve to make sure you`re ready for that first half an hour or first hour of the first Test match and try and sort of set the momentum in your favour there and then,” said the 50-year-old former cricketer.

Ahead of the first Test match, veteran batsman Steve Smith will likely take over the leadership duties for Australia as Pat Cummins is still recovering from his injury.

The first Test match of the Ashes series between England and Australia is scheduled to be played from November 21.

(With ANI Inputs)

By admin