9:22am Wednesday 8th July 2009
AUSTRALIA captain Ricky Ponting is confident his team will not repeat their mistakes of four years ago when they begin the defence of the Ashes.
Despite excellent contributions from veterans Shane Warne – who claimed 40 wickets in the series – and Glenn McGrath (with 19 victims in just three appearances) the Australians could not avert a 2-1 defeat.
Although the current crop have far less experience than their 2005 predecessors, Ponting is anticipating a better collective effort.
‘‘What I am demanding of our team is we have an even contribution from all of our players,’’ said Ponting, on the eve of today’s opening Test in Cardiff. ‘‘As we saw in 2005, you can have a couple of stand-out guys and still not win.
‘‘Obviously I want some of the guys to have some of the best series of their careers but I want all of us to be able to contribute at different times.
That is what made us as successful as we were in South Africa recently.
‘‘There is no doubt there is a lot of hunger within the group to build on things we felt we started there. Our level of play over there was exceptionally high and we want to maintain that through the next couple of months.
‘‘Where we were deficient in 2005 was not winning the critical moments in the series. We made enough mistakes to give England the opportunity to win some of those games.
‘‘I am sure we won’t make those mistakes again. If we are good enough we are good enough, and I have a really good feeling we are going to be good enough.’’ Australia, whose 2-1 away win over the Proteas earlier this year confirmed their place on top of the world Test rankings, must be successful on this trip to retain their spot.
They have spent a month honing their own skills and analysing the strengths and weaknesses of Andrew Strauss’ team, and Ponting said: ‘‘There is a great hunger around the group, no more so for me than any of the other players.
‘‘The really impressive thing is, if you have hardly played a Test, or as many as I have, the hunger and desire to do well for yourself and for your mates is as good as I have ever seen it around our team.
‘‘That’s an exciting thing for me. We will give it our best shot.
‘‘We know what brand of cricket we need to play and know what to expect from the English, so all in all you will see another exciting and highly dramatic Test series.
‘‘From my point of view, I don’t necessarily want to contain the excitement. I want to go out there and express myself and express my excitement at being part of this series.
That is what all the players will be doing.’’ Ponting, 34, is desperate to address the biggest blemish on his captaincy CV, when he became the first Australian leader to lose a Test series to England in two decades back in 2005. This is his fourth tour here and probably his last, which if the case would close a lengthy chapter in his life.
Anglo-Aussie battles have been a part of his existence since his uncle Greg Campbell was selected 20 years ago.
‘‘I remember going down to his house just after his kit arrived with his baggy green, his jumper and playing shirts,’’ recalled Ponting.
‘‘Just to go through the bag and touch the baggy green cap was, for me, where the dream of playing Ashes cricket really all started.
‘‘To then have played with the great players I have means I have some great memories of Ashes cricket. I have a thousand Ashes memories.
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