I can't see New Zealand winning a game: Ricky Ponting

From the batting paradise at home and after a 1-0 win against England, New Zealand was suddenly thrown out of its comfort bubble. Right after this high-scoring series, Australia welcomed them for a three-match Test series. The first was played at Perth – a place where the pitches are known to be bouncy and pacy. And, as it turned out to be, New Zealand had no answers to the Aussie bowling attack in this Pink-ball Test.

They lost the services of Lockie Ferguson early in the game. In the absence of Trent Boult, their bowling seemed to have lacked the nip. There were several occasions when the batsmen remained clueless about the short balls. Thus, they ended up bagging an embarrassing loss.

They lost the first Test by a mammoth margin of 296 runs. However, Kane Williamson’s captaincy and the bowling in the second innings were the positives out of this game. Yet, former Australian captain, Ricky Ponting feels the Kiwis won’t be able to win a game on this tour.

I was worried about lack of penetration with New Zealand’s bowling attack

Ricky Ponting put forward his opinion about this performance from the visitors. While he said that the hosts set the tone for the series, he even opined that New Zealand showed no teeth in their bowling attack. “Australia have set the tone for the series. I was worried about New Zealand coming here and with a lack of penetration with their bowling attack,” Ponting told cricket.com.au.

He further emphasised on the quality of cricket Australia has been playing of late. Ponting said that Tim Paine and his men played some great cricket in Perth. If they manage to get anywhere close to that performance, he feels New Zealand won’t be able to win a single game.

“Australia have played some really good cricket here in Perth. And, if they continue to play anywhere near that I can’t see New Zealand winning a game,” he added. The second game of this series will be the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne. This will be followed by a game in Sydney that kicks off on 3rd January 2020.

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