Ricky Ponting gives daring ‘no draws’ prediction for Ashes 2025: ‘England have only won 4 matches this century but…’
Legendary Australian captain Ricky Ponting had a brave prediction for England's chances in Australia for the upcoming Ashes.
When it comes to Australian cricket and the leaders that have taken the team to the heights they have achieved in cricket history, Ricky Ponting sits right at the forefront. In particular, Ponting has experience against the best English teams in recent memory, as he led Australia against the challenge of a powerful England team in 2005 and then the 2010-11 series in Australia.
That 2010-11 series is the only time England have beaten Australia in Australia going back 40 years, and becomes the template for Ben Stokes and his team Down Under. Winless in three tours and subjected to 13 losses in that period, England under the Bazball regime have a lot to prove – but do they have enough firepower to overcome Australia?
Speaking on the ICC Review, Ponting expressed that he expected England to be competitive against this Australian team. However, for his prediction, he leaned towards the home team to just scrape by with the results.
"I don't think there'll be any draws, just the way that England play. I don't foresee any drawn games and I just think it's going to be really, really close. So I'm going 3-2 Australia,” predicted Ponting.
Ponting expects England to improve from 13-0
The former Aussie captain argued that Australia’s dominance meant they would remain favourites, but England would come away with the wins that have been tough to come by in Australia in the last 15 years and more.
"The fact that there's no draws. I just think that's how potentially close it could be. And obviously I'm taking everything into account there as well. The fact that England have only won four Test matches in Australia this century and I'm predicting that they're going to win two in this series. So that's how much closer I think it could be,” he explained.
England’s Bazball unit recued a 2-2 draw in the previous Ashes at home, having gone down 2-0 in the series, and were in many ways the stronger team in that edition held in 2023.
‘Everything has aligned perfectly for Smith’
In terms of the performance of the players themselves, Ponting backed two Australians to continue their dominance over England. Mitchell Starc was his pick for the leading wicket taker in the absence of the injury-curtailed Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, but he expected the most important player of the series to be Steven Smith, once again at the helm of the Aussie team.
"I actually had Hazlewood in as the leading wicket taker so I'm going to have to take that out now and I'll go Mitchell Starc now as the leading wicket taker across the series. And I just think everything is aligned perfectly for Steve Smith to be the leading run scorer.”
Only the legendary Don Bradman and Jack Hobbs have more runs in Ashes Test matches than Smith’s 3417, which includes 12 centuries and an average of 56. In a hot streak of form, Smith is odds on to cover the gap to Hobbs, and potentially eclipse the 4000-run mark against England.
"Back in that No.4 spot, has made hundreds in his last few Test matches that he's played, freshened up off a break being in New York away from everything for a while, scores a 100 when he comes back in his first Sheffield Shield game,” expressed Ponting, giving his backing to Smith in home conditions.
The Ashes begin at the Perth Stadium in Western Australia this weekend, with the weight of expectations on the hosts as England come in as the sparky underdogs. However, with barbs already being thrown around as they always are, there won't be much warm-up needed for the heat that is sure to follow.
