'How they're going to get 20 wickets' - Ricky Ponting skeptical of England's flat wickets theory ahead of Ashes

The much-awaited Ashes 2023 is all set to get underway on Friday, June 16 as England and Australia will lock horns in the first Test of the five-match series. The series is expected to be an action-packed encounter as England’s ‘Bazball’ play will be up against Australia’s potent bowling attack.

Ahead of the series, England skipper Ben Stokes had revealed that he had asked curators to prepare flat-fast tracks for the five-match series. However, former Australia captain Ricky Ponting feels that if England go ahead with their plan they will struggle to take 20 wickets in the game. Ponting further said that England batters will bat really well but will struggle with the ball.

"If England want to play the style that they've been playing, I actually think they probably need to have some flattish-type wickets. I've heard that they want flat wickets, I've heard they want the boundaries brought in. But I think if they do have these flatter wickets, I'd be worried about how they're going to get 20 Australian wickets a game,” Ponting was quoted as saying by the Times.

"The records of some of our top-order batters are not as good here in the UK, but the bowling numbers are all pretty good. I think England are going to bat really well. I think they're going to struggle with the ball, and I think if you look at Australia's attack, Australia's bowling probably right now has fewer holes in it than what the batting has," he added.

Australia to end their 22-year-long wait for Ashes win in England?

Notably, Australia haven’t won an Ashes series in England since 2001. However, they’ve had an upper hand over England in the last three series as they’ve retained the Ashes since 2017. They managed to draw the series last time in England by 2-2 and will be eager to end their 22-year-long Ashes win drought in England in the upcoming series.

On the other hand, England have been in sensational form since last year having won 11 out of their 13 Tests played ever since Ben Stokes became full-time captain. Hence, both teams are expected to treat fans with another action-packed series.