'Too late for wholesale changes': Ponting on Australia's XI as Ashes selection looms

New Delhi, Sep 23 (IANS) With the Ashes just two months away, Ricky Ponting believes Australia may have run out of time to make sweeping changes to their Test XI, despite ongoing concerns about the top order.

The former skipper weighed in after the Aussies’ 3-0 sweep in the Caribbean, a series that raised fresh questions over the batting lineup ahead of the 2025/26 showdown with England. While conditions in the West Indies were bowler-friendly, only two or three of Australia’s top six look truly settled.

“Everyone’s been talking about how crucial these first four Sheffield Shield games are, particularly for some of our top order batters, and I agree with that,” Ponting told SEN Tassie. “But I also feel that it’s probably got almost to the point where it’s too late to be making too many big wholesale changes to the current team going into an Ashes series.”

Ponting threw his support behind 19-year-old opener Sam Konstas, who struck 109 and 27 not out for Australia A against India A in Lucknow last week. “Konstas has obviously just done well. He made a hundred for Australia A over in India, which is exactly what he needed. So, I can see our top order being Konstas and Khawaja.”

He also backed Cameron Green’s elevation to number three, with Steve Smith at four, Travis Head at five, and Beau Webster rounding out the top six. “I think the fact that they’ve moved Green up to number three in the Caribbean probably suggests to me that they see him as that long-term number three. Smith will stay at four, Head at five, and then I would keep Beau at number six. I can’t see how they could leave Beau out of the side and keep some of the other guys in. That’s the way that I’m sort of looking at it.”

Still, Ponting admitted there was room for flexibility, particularly if Australia wanted to unsettle an aggressive England side. “The other thing I thought they could do if they were worried about that (Green’s role) at all – and with our current openers who are probably not the fastest scorers (is move Travis Head up). Head is the second most established player in that (batting) lineup, probably behind Steve Smith, and the natural progression for players of that sort of age … you usually come into the side as a number five or six player, and eventually you’d work your way up and find yourself in a number three slot.

“So, they could think about doing that with Travis Head and with the way that England play their cricket, to have someone like Head coming in at number three and being able to put some pressure back on (could be strong).”

Australia host England in the first Test of the Ashes at Optus Stadium on November 21.

--IANS

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