Sydney, August 08: Australia stormed back into the series with a sharp and aggressive performance that exposed the weaknesses of an unsettled home side.
Ricky Ponting deserves credit for holding himself and his side together in hard times and his reward came as his players produced their tightest, toughest cricket of the campaign. Not that the match is over: Leeds Tests move along in fits and starts.
Ponting’s bowlers, catchers and batsmen backed him up and the captain himself played the innings of the day, unfurling scorching shots off the back foot and calmly controlled cover drives. Nor was he flustered as England aimed wide of the sticks. Running between wickets was his weak point.
Unduly loyal to the previous ageing team, Ponting continues to emerge as a respected leader of a relatively inexperienced outfit. He has always known the game but had become bogged down by his inheritance. At last he is the side’s senior player and able to put his imprint on it. Even before this turnaround his captaincy was not under threat. Mistakes had been made but he was hardly to blame for the side’s predicament.
–IANS