Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting feels that Travis Head could be moved up the batting order for the crucial five-match Test series against England. He believes that the latter can put the pressure on the England bowlers through his aggressive batting approach and can massively help the Baggy Greens in dominating over their rivals in the series.
“As a young bloke you used to come into the side as a No.5 or No.6 player and eventually you worked your way up and find yourself in a No.3 spot. So they could think about doing that with Travis Head, they could move him up to No.3,” Ponting said on SEN Radio.
“The way England play their cricket, to have someone like Travis Head coming in at No.3 and be able to put some pressure back on the likes of Jofra Archer and Mark Wood, that’s another way they could look at it if they really want to get on the front foot and try and dominate England through this Ashes summer," he added.
Ponting wants Konstas to open
Ponting also suggested that 19-year-old Sam Konstas, who arrived at the scene during the Border-Gavaskar series 2024/25 against India, can be Australia's opener for The Ashes alongside the experienced Usman Khawaja. He further stated that if not Head, then the Baggy Greens should continue with Cameron Green at No.3 and added that Steve Smith will remain at the No.4 spot. Moreover, he pointed out that all-rounder Beau Webster will be very important for the team throughout the assignment.
“I can see our top order being Konstas and Khawaja. The fact they’ve moved Green up to No.3 when they did in the Caribbean to me suggested they see him as that long-term No.3. Smith will stay at four, Head at five, and I would definitely keep Beau Webster at No.6. I can’t see how they could leave Beau out of the side and keep some of the other guys in," Ponting stated.
Australia in top form
Meanwhile, Australia defeated West Indies in their previous red-ball assignment. They whitewashed the Test series by 3-0 and began the new World Test Champ[ionship (WTC) cycle on a high note. On the other hand, England drew their five-match Test series against India by 2-2, failing to defeat their oppoents even on home soil.
The Ashes series will be an incredibly important assignment for both the teams especially considering the WTC points table. It is set to commence from November 21 and the first Test will be held at the Optus Stadium in Perth. It will be interesting to see as to which of the two sides will come out on top in what is expected to be a dramatic series.