Ponting’s Surprise XI Sparks Debate Ahead of Opening Ashes Test

The phrase Australia Ashes playing XI has been tossed around for weeks, yet nobody quite imagined the version Ricky Ponting finally put forward. The former captain has seen enough Ashes chaos to trust his instinct, and this time he wasn’t shy about shaking things up. 

He backed Jake Weatherald as an opener. Yes, a debutant in an Ashes opener. Few saw this coming. Ponting sounded convinced, though, almost calm in the way he spoke, as if the noise outside didn’t matter. Weatherald beside Usman Khawaja, then Marnus Labuschagne at three. “He’s earned it,” Ponting said. Labuschagne has been peeling off runs everywhere he goes.

Injury Woes Shake Australia’s Pace Attack

But the real story sits deeper. Injuries have ripped through Australia’s pace stocks and shifted the entire mood around the Australia vs England Test build-up. Josh Hazlewood’s hamstring strain hit first. Pat Cummins being ruled out made it worse.

The selectors were scrambling, and the dressing room looked different. You could sense the worry. Not panic, but that uneasy silence teams know too well.

Injuries flipped everything: Brendan Doggett entered the conversation not as a fringe option but as the man Ponting sees ready to step in. “Probably Doggett gets the nod,” he said, barely pausing. He spoke like someone who’d seen enough of Doggett’s hard spells to believe they translate to Perth’s bounce.

Mitchell Starc stays, of course. Scott Boland, too, steady as ever. Then the wildcard: Beau Webster. He wasn’t part of the Ashes chatter a week ago. But eight wickets in his Shield match cracked open a door no one thought existed. His performance jolted the selectors. Suddenly, 

Ponting didn’t write him in as a guarantee, but he didn’t rule him out either. That alone says plenty. “He missed out with the bat,” Ponting said, “but eight wickets… that makes you think.” 

Balancing Batting Firepower and Bowling Depth

Meanwhile, Cameron Green waits in that interesting spot where talent isn’t the question, workload is. With Cummins and Hazlewood sidelined, every over matters. Each spell becomes a puzzle. Green’s 94 in the Shield match lit things up, and fans loved it. That shot he played over extra cover had the crowd on its feet. But Ponting admitted the dilemma: can they trust him to bowl long spells with an injury-hit attack?

Australia’s batting core at least feels stable. Steve Smith captains. Travis Head at five adds punch. Alex Carey at seven keeps things tidy. But the real curiosity sits around the balance of the lower order. Will they risk a thinner bowling unit to keep the batting long? Or will they pull Webster in and let Green float? Ponting didn’t pretend to know the final call. “A lot of questions,” he shrugged. You could see the uncertainty written on his face.

Countdown to Perth

As the countdown to Perth tightens, the Australia vs England Test opener now carries a strange mix of nerves and intrigue. It’s not often an Ashes series begins with so many moving parts. That alone should make the first morning session electric. Gasps will echo around the stadium the moment the teams walk out.

For fans tracking updates, the full schedule and news will be live on tapmad. The Ashes opener on 21 November now feels far more dramatic than anyone expected two weeks ago. A reshuffled pace attack and a debutant opener. A possible late twist with Webster. It’s raw, unpredictable, and oddly perfect for the Ashes.

And that’s exactly why Perth might deliver one of those unforgettable first Tests cricket loves to spring on us.