Ricky Ponting Predicts 3–2 Ashes Win for Australia, Says No Draws Likely

Ricky Ponting predicts a close Ashes series with Australia winning 3–2 and no matches ending in a draw because of England’s aggressive style.

Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting predicts the upcoming Ashes will produce a result in every match, with England’s Bazball approach leaving no room for drawn games. He expects the five-Test series to remain tight but ultimately back Australia to claim a 3–2 win.

Ponting also noted that England’s record in Australia offers little comfort, with only four wins in the country this century. Despite that, he feels Ben Stokes’ team will push the hosts hard and secure two wins.

“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,” Ponting said on ICC Review.

“The fact that there are 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 Tests in Australia this century and I’m predicting that they’re going to win two in this series,” he added. 

Ponting Backs Starc to Lead the Wicket Charts

Ricky Ponting also expects two Australian stars to shape the upcoming Ashes, backing Mitchell Starc to emerge as the series’ top wicket-taker in the absence of Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood. He then predicted that stand-in captain Steve Smith will dominate with the bat and finish as the leading run-scorer.

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“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,” he concluded.