AUS vs PAK | With Burns comes the left-right combination, making bowler's job difficult, reckons Ricky Ponting

11/14/2019

Ricky Ponting pointed out that Burns inclusion will help Warner flourish as the right hand-left hand combination will unsettle the bowlers. Cricket Australia has declared it's squad for the Test series against Pakistan which includes Joe Burns while Usman Khawaja and Marcus Harris missed out.

Australia are looking to start the home season on a high against Pakistan after they were able to retain the Urn in England. Cricket Australia named the squad for the series as former Ricky Ponting commented that there were no surprises.

While opener Joe Burns have been recalled into the team, Usman Khawaja and Marcus Harris were the notable exclusions. Pointing was impressed by the inclusion of Burns as he shared that with the right hand - left hand combination at the top, the top order nightmare of the Ashes won't be repeated.

Ponting also went on to say that the inclusion of a right-hander will bring variety to the batting line up will unsettle the young and inexperienced Pakistan bowling attack.

"The left-hand, right-hand combination at the top is a good thing. We saw in England that right-armers going around the wicket created a lot of issues to our lefties at the top. With Burns being there now … if they want to go around the wicket to Warner, they'll have to go over the wicket to Burns. So it just makes the bowler's job a little bit more difficult," Ponting told cricket.com.au today.

"We saw the dominance Broad had against the lefties and if they had a right-hander there (in England), it might have been a bit easier for him and the other left-hander as well."

Ponting was all praises about the Western Australian opener as he described him as a seasoned campaigner, having played 16 Test matches, and hence deserves a stint with the national side. Ponting while talking highly of the opener acknowledged that his performance in the warm up match was just a one off.

"The underlying thing through it all was just how disappointing the batsmen were in the tour game," Ponting said of the Australia A game in Perth, where Burns posted scores of 0 and 11.

"It was talked about for a couple of weeks as a bat-off and a showdown, and it didn't turn out that way because none of the batters made any, apart from (Cameron) Bancroft. I think (Burns) is a good selection. Looking back to the Ashes squad, he was probably the most-unlucky omission from that. Things didn't work out for him in the tour game, but he'll obviously get a lot of confidence out of being back. He's got a proven track record, averages about 40 in Test cricket and hopefully that will continue," Ponting added.

The former Aussie skipper predicted that Burns' opening partner David Warner will leave the Ashes slump behind and emerge as the Kangaroos' trump card in this home season. Warner has an incredible average of almost 60 at home and his recent heroics in the T20 series, in which he remained unbeaten, are all omens that Pontings' prediction might very well come true.

"I know what sort of a bloke he is. He's very competitive, he wants to win, and he wants to have success. And he's very meticulous in his preparation, he knows how teams are going to bowl to him and what he has to work on," opined Ponting

"The hunger and desire will certainly be there. If he gets off to a good start in the first Test, it could be a big summer for him."