Ashes 2023: Ricky Ponting has questioned Ben Stokes’s captaincy after Pat Cummins called into question

Former Australia skipper Ricky Ponting has defended Pat Cummins’s leadership and taken aim at his counterpart Ben Stoke’s performance as England captain in the process.

Ponting hit out at critics of Cummins’s captaincy and has doubted whether Stokes’s lauded leadership has been so effective. Picture: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images

RICKY PONTING has praised Pat Cummins’s captaincy and said it his counterpart Ben Stokes who should be called to account after failing to regain the Ashes despite outplaying Australia.

Cummins came under fire after the second day of the fourth Test at Old Trafford when he appeared to have no idea how to stem the flow of runs as England scored a total of 592 in 107.4 overs. However Ponting, a former Australia captain who has been critical of Cummins’s defensive fields during the series, has defended his fellow countryman.

Instead, Ponting criticised Stokes. The England captain has been lauded for his imaginative and bold captaincy since taking charge last summer and leading England to 11 wins in 13 Tests before this series, but his team lost the first two Ashes Tests in tight finishes and trail Australia 2-1 with only the fifth Test to play.

The decisions of both captains have come under consistent scrutiny during the series. Picture: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images

“Everyone’s been talking about how England have outplayed Australia … if that’s the case, maybe there’s some questions to be asked about Ben Stokes’s captaincy,” Ponting, 48, told The ICC Review podcast.

“If the fact is they’ve outplayed Australia and are still trailing in the series, I don’t think there should be too many questions about Pat. Pat’s done a terrific job … for a couple of hours on day two [at Old Trafford], things looked like they were getting out of control but the captain can’t be expected to have the exact right answer 100 per cent of the time.

“I don’t think it’s got the better of Pat – in fact, for Australia to be 2-1 up where they are right now you’d have to say that Pat’s done a terrific job.”

McDonald has been quick to defend his captain, denying any chance of Cummins stepping down from the role. Picture: Philip Brown/Getty Images

Andrew McDonald, the Australia head coach, also came out in defence of Cummins over claims that he could stand down as captain after the conclusion of this series.

“If we’re living and dying in the world of tactics only, then it’s fair to critique some of the execution and tactics we implemented but to go as far as suggesting the captain will resign post-series is a bit far-fetched,” McDonald said.

The England Test side’s next series after the conclusion of the Ashes is not until next year, when they will play five Tests during an eight-week tour to India. These matches will not, however, take place in any of Mumbai, Delhi, Calcutta, Chennai or Bangalore.

The series, which takes place between January 25 and March 11, will be played in Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Rajkot, Ranchi and Dharamsala – all five of these grounds have hosted only five Tests or fewer.

-The Times

Originally published as Ashes 2023: Ricky Ponting has questioned Ben Stokes’s captaincy after Pat Cummins called into question