SYDNEY, Australia, CMC – Ricky Ponting warned England yesterday that his Australian side will provide much stiffer opposition than West Indies during the Ashes Series this summer in England.

On the day the Aussies named their squad for the five-Test Ashes series, captain Ponting confidently suggested that England will have to step up their game even though he credited them for their emphatic 2-0 series win over the West Indies.

“They’ve done everything very well in these last two Test matches against West Indies but I guarantee that they will be facing stiffer opposition than the West Indies when we arrive,” Ponting said.
Ponting was not impressed with the challenge West Indies offered during their two games at Lord’s and Riverside and suggested that England should not read too much into their lopsided wins over the Caribbean side.

“It’s been made pretty clear over the past few weeks anyway that their captain (Chris Gayle) doesn’t even want to be there,” Ponting said, making reference to Gayle’s recent pronouncements about the exhausting demands of international cricketing.

All-rounder Andrew Symonds has been omitted from Australia’s 16-man squad for the Ashes series although he was tipped for inclusion by Ponting.

Shane Watson and Andrew McDonald were preferred over Symonds for the all-rounder spots in the squad.

Pace bowlers Stuart Clark and Brett Lee, who have missed most of the Australian season through injury, have been recalled into a squad that has 11 players making their first Ashes tour.

The five-Test Ashes series starts in Cardiff on July 8 and Ponting is keen to lead his side to victory.
“There’s one thing on my cricketing resume that hasn’t been achieved yet, and that’s being captain of a winning Ashes team in England,” Ponting.

“That’s something very dear to my heart, and something I’ll certainly be speaking to the players about when we arrive,” he added.