Ricky Ponting to assist Justin Langer on England tour

Australian cricket is in the middle of a tumultuous phase owing to the ball-tampering scandal back in March during a Test match in South Africa. Steve Smith, David Warner, and Cameron Bancroft were handed suspensions by Cricket Australia (CA). Darren Lehmann, the then head coach, was also suspected to have played a part in the debacle.

However, he was given a clean chit in the matter. Nevertheless, he stepped down for his role and Justin Langer was appointed as the new head coach of the team. It has recently been learned that Ricky Ponting, the retired Australian batsman, will also join the team management in order to assist Langer for Australia’s upcoming tour of England for an ODI and a T20I series this month.

We know about his experiences and tactical expertise

Justin Langer termed Ponting as one of the greats of the game and also recalled the days when they played for the same team. The team will surely be benefitted with the presence of the former captain who has coached the Australian T20 team.

“Ricky is one of the greats of the game, and since he was already in England doing some commentary we saw it as a great opportunity to have him join our team for this important series. We have played a lot of cricket together and coached alongside each other previously, and he will also know many of the players already through his work with the team over the past two summers and his BBL commitments,” Langer was quoted as saying by Wisden India.

“Ricky’s knowledge of the game is second-to-none, and we know that his experiences, tactical expertise and leadership will be invaluable for this group, as we start to build a team capable of winning a World Cup in these conditions in a year’s time,” the former Australian cricketer mentioned while highlighting the prominence of Ponting’s presence in the thick of things.

Australia will start their campaign with a couple of warm-up matches versus Sussex and Middlesex at Hove and London respectively. They will play the first ODI at the Kennington Oval in London on June 13. Cardiff, Nottingham, Chester-Le-Street, and Manchester will host the remaining matches. After the conclusion of the ODI series, the arch-rivals will clash in a one-off T20I in Birmingham.

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