Sydney, Jan 8 (FN Bureau) In the aftermath of Australia’s emphatic 3-1 series victory over India to reclaim the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, ICC Hall of Famer Ricky Ponting has offered a glowing appraisal ofthe team’s resilience and transformation on The ICC Review.The win in Sydney marked a significant milestone for the Australian squad as they reclaimed the coveted Border-Gavaskar Trophy after 10 years, having lost consecutive series between theteams.Reflecting on Australia’s initial struggles, Ponting remarked on the stark contrast between their performance in the first Test and the rest of the series.“When I look back to the start of this series and just look how far off the mark the Aussies were in that first game, I think there was a lot of criticism that was flying around about the team,” Ponting told The ICC Review.“It almost looked a little un-Australian,” he said.The home side began the series on a losing note, after Jasprit Bumrah’s heroics with the ball combined with centuries from Yashasvi Jaiswal and Virat Kohli stunning Australia in Perth.The crushing defeat triggered extensive discussions within – and outside – the team, and Ponting believes the extended break between the first two matches was a turning point.“When you lose a Test match like that against another very strong opposition side, you do have todo a bit of soul searching and do a lot of talking. I think one of the things that probably helped the Aussies was the big break between the first two games,” he said. “I think the break gave the Australians a chance to get away and put the media speculation and the white noise away. It also gave them long enough to work on what they needed to work on going into the Adelaide game,” Ponting said.
It turned out to be invaluable for the Australians, as players like Travis Head and Cummins peaked at crucial moments.“As we saw, it ended up being great management because those guys ended up being at their best at the back end of the five Test matches,” Ponting noted.Australia’s bowling attack was at the heart of their success, with a quartet of bowlers continuing in the same vein that put them on a pedestal as one of the best attacks of all time.“The bowling group in itself has achieved some incredible things. (Josh) Hazlewood, (Mitchell) Starc, Cummins and (Nathan) Lyon, I think have all taken over around 300 wickets each,” Ponting said.“It’s the first time in Test match history that you’ve had four bowlers with those sorts of records in the same lineup,” he said.According to Ponting, Australia’s dominance from the second Test in Adelaide was not confined to traditional fortresses either.“When you look at that, the conditions that you think India would normally play better in, Australia’s found a way to outplay them in Melbourne and Sydney. So it was a really good turnaround and one that they’ll be happy with,” said Ponting.“They now own every bilateral trophy there is around the world. And they’ve got the 50-over World Cup and the World Test Championship. They’ve achieved some amazing things together,” he said. Ponting was also impressed with Cummins’ leadership and match-winning contributions.
Ranked number three in Test all-rounders, Cummins had a fantastic series, taking 25 wickets (second-most in the series) and contributing 159 valuable runs.“Pat has grown as a player, he’s grown as a leader,” said the former Australian skipper.“Whenever things get tough as captain, he doesn’t look around to anybody else. He brings himself straight back into the attack and more often than not gets the job done,” Ponting said.Despite the win though, Ponting also acknowledged the inevitable need for regeneration within the team, citing the average age within the current Australian side.“There’s not one player in their 20s in that team. You’ve got one at 19 and everyone else over 30. That’s going to be the next challenge for this Australian group,” he said.“That’s going to be the next challenge for this Australian group, not just for the Australian team, but for Australian cricket is to bring on this new group of young players. There’s not many opportunities that present themselves,” Ponting said.Upcoming tours to Sri Lanka and the West Indies present opportunities to blood young talent, though Ponting cautioned about the challenges ahead.“We’ve got a tour to Sri Lanka and then the West Indies coming up before the Ashes next summer. If they are looking at bringing young players in, it probably needs to start in Sri Lanka and the West Indies,”he said.“And if you’re bringing young players into the Sri Lankan tour, that’s not going to be an easy place for anyone to start,” Ponting added.