Ricky Ponting says he turned down the England Test cricket head coach job before Brendon McCullum was appointed

23.06.2023 - 09:11 eurosport.com

Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting says he was offered the job as England’s Test cricket head coach before Brendon McCullum took on the role.

McCullum, alongside captain Ben Stokes, has helped England adopt an aggressive style of play which has come to be known as ‘Bazball’.

Ad Despite an impressive start to their leadership — which saw them win 11 of their first 13 matches in charge — McCullum and Stokes have work to do after going 1-0 down in the Ashes series with a two-wicket defeat in the opening Test at Edgbaston.

CricketRoot moves to top of Test batting rankings after first Ashes TestYESTERDAY AT 13:17 However, England’s style and approach could have looked very different this summer had Ponting responded more positively to the advances of the ECB.

cricket Head Coach Test Ricky Ponting Sachin Tendulkar Brendon Maccullum Australia India Delhi

With the third Ashes Test scheduled to be played between July 6-10, the dust seemed to have settled over England batter Jonny Bairstow's controversial dismissal in the second Test at Lord's which Australia won by 43 runs to 2-0 in the five-game series. On the eve of the 3rd Test at Headingley, England captain Ben Stokes insisted it was time "everyone moved on" from the incident, which reinvigorated the 'Spirit of Cricket' debate. Former England Nasser Hussain has revealed that Australia great Ricky Ponting told him off-air that the visiting skipper, Pat Cummins, "might have to re-think his appeal".

"Ben Stokes' Doing It At...": Ricky Ponting's 'MS Dhoni' Compliment For England Captain

Australia great Ricky Ponting has likened Ben Stokes' match-winning abilities to Mahendra Singh Dhoni's on-field demeanour, saying the England skipper is far ahead of his contemporaries in pressure situations just like the Indian legend used to be. Stokes almost single-handedly carried England to a series-levelling win, scoring 155 off 214 balls in the second Ashes Test at Lord's. It wasn't the first time he had terrorised Australia. In the 2019 Ashes, he smashed an unbeaten 135 to help the hosts register a remarkable one-wicket win at Leeds.

"Pretty Easy For Ben Stokes...": Ricky Ponting Questions England Captain's Comments On Jonny Bairstow Dismissal

Former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting questioned England's skipper Ben Stokes's comments on Jonny Bairstow's dismissal on Day 5 of the second Test match of the Ashes 2023 series. While many fans have deemed Bairstow's dismissal as debatable, Stokes also went on to question the decision and suggest in the post-match presentation that the dismissal occurred on the final delivery of Green's over and should have allowed Bairstow to depart his crease and speak with his captain immediately.

'Hasn't Looked Dangerous In The Series At All': Ricky Ponting On England Pacer In Ashes 2023

Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting believes that England's pacer Ollie Robinson did not look dangerous in the Ashes as he has only taken wickets of tailenders. The English bowler has taken three wickets in the ongoing second Test match of the Ashes series against Australia on Thursday at Lord's. He had also taken five wickets in the first Ashes Test. Ponting in ICC Review said, "I don't think he's looked dangerous in the series at all. I mean, if you look at the wickets, he's got the tailenders out in each game. Yes he got Marnus (Labuschagne) in this innings here. But then he got (Nathan) Lyon and then he got (Josh) Hazlewood. So if he didn't get the 10 and 11 out, then he finishes his innings with one wicket at over four runs an over."

"If He Hadn't Instigated This Tit-for-tat...": Ricky Ponting On Chatter Around Ollie Robinson

"He's Over Complicating Things...": Ricky Ponting's Advice For Australia Batter Ahead Of 2nd Ashes Test

Former captain Ricky Ponting has offered technical advice to Australia batters Marnus Labuschagne and Travis Head to counter England's bowling attack ahead of the second Ashes Test starting Wednesday at the Lord's. Australia won the opening Test at Edgbaston, Birmingham by two wickets in what was the first match of the new ICC World Test Championship cycle. There were a number of impressive individual performances, but Labuschagne and Head struggled in the Ashes opener.