Ashes: Ricky Ponting predicts England to make bold change in batting order in fourth Test | Cricket News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting cautioned the visitors to brace themselves for a bold tactical change that Ben Stokes might employ in their quest to level the series in the fourth Ashes Test at Manchester.
Following England’s resilient three-wicket triumph in Leeds, they kept their hopes alive in this year’s Ashes series and will seek to replicate that performance when the fourth Test commences on July 19 at Old Trafford.
Although pacer Ollie Robinson sustained a back injury on the first day of the third Test, Ponting believes that England should stick with the same lineup as in Headingley, provided that the right-arm bowler can demonstrate his fitness ahead of the Manchester encounter.
“I think I would keep it (the England XI) exactly the same,” Ponting said on the latest episode of The ICC Review.
“I know it’s James Anderson’s home ground. I mean that’s the one they might think about – Anderson for Robinson maybe as Anderson’s had that week off, freshens up and goes to his home ground. I wouldn’t be changing too much if I was England but that would be the only one I’d think about, would be Anderson in for Robinson,” he added.
Due to the absence of first-choice No.3 Ollie Pope due to injury, England elevated Harry Brook to come in at three during the first innings at Headingley, and then stunned many when all-rounder Moeen Ali was deployed in that position in the second innings.
Neither player reached double figures when batting in that unfamiliar position, and Ponting believes Stokes will bat at No. 3 in Manchester.
“I actually thought that Ben Stokes might have batted himself at number three at Headingley when I realised that Pope was out and Moeen and Woakes came back in. To me he’s got the technique to survive at the top and Moeen hasn’t. We saw that in the second innings. I’m not sure if Harry Brook is ever going to be a top-order Test match batsman. I think he’s always going to be a four, five or six type batter with the way that he plays,” Ponting said.
“I thought the opportunity was there for Ben because a lot of the time with Stokes and, you know this is no knock on him whatsoever as he’s a terrific player, but a lot of the time he’s got to come in and play a Mr Fix-It role when it’s almost like a damage control sort of role where I’ve always felt that if he batted at No.3 then he could sort of stop some of that damage with the technique that he’s got,” he added.
“And the fact that he’s probably not going to bowl if they go in with the same bowling attack, he’s probably not going to bowl in the Test match, so it gives him a chance to be fresher to bat up the order. So that would be something that I’d be thinking about if I was England and certainly something that Australia should be ready for,” said the former Australia captain.