Ricky Ponting knocks down old Ashes rival Pietersen for ‘Root owned Australia’ claim’

In the opening Ashes contest of the 2023 series at the Edgbaston Cricket Ground in Birmingham, Australia maybe be behind with Pat Cummins-led side looking to chase down 174 runs with seven wickets in hand, but Ricky Ponting, former Australia captain, is winning the off-field battle.

There was no cricket match involved; instead, it was a war of words, with Ponting once again displaying a glimpse of his old cricketing days, where he channeled his calm and composed attitude to take down the opposition.

This time, it was his old Ashes rival, Kevin Pietersen and Ponting needed was a brutal seven-word answer to shut down the former England cricketer.

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The incident occurred during the lunch break on Day 4 of the 1st Ashes Test in Birmingham when England were 155 for 5 with a 162-run lead in the second innings. After Australia had taken two wickets at the end of Day 3 with some unconventional shots, Joe Root alone had increased England’s score in the first session.

Pietersen was all praise for the former England captain, who started the day with a couple of reverse ramps to put pressure back on the Aussies and get the scoreboard rolling. However, he was dismissed for 46 runs by Nathan Lyon when attempting to swipe across the line.

“Joe Root just owned the game. He ran the game, he was pure quality and he just owned that space,” Pietersen said. “All of this lot (Australian players) were just scratching their heads going ‘what do we do?’.”

Ponting did not interrupt Pietersen. He remained calm throughout. And as Pietersen ended, he brutally shut him down with a savage seven-word reply. He said: “Well he’s out now, he got 40.”

Cummins and Lyon took four wickets each as England was eventually defeated by 273 runs. Australia were hence at a target of 281.

Before Ollie Robinson and Stuart Broad ran through the top order, Usman Khawaja and David Warner opened the match with a 61-run partnership. Before Robinson dismissed Warner for 36, Broad struck twice to get rid of Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne. Day 4 saw Australia score 107 for three.

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