Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting has predicted that the hosts will clinch the upcoming five-match Ashes series 3-2 over England despite it being a close-fought contest.

Although Australia have retained the Ashes since 2018 and have been beaten by England in only four home Tests this century, Ponting says he still expects England to put up a strong fight in the five-match series Down Under.

“I don’t think there’ll be any draws, just the way that England play. If there’s reasonable weather through the Australian summer, we know that the biggest concern for the last 15 years has been Sydney with the amount of days we’ve lost there,” Ponting said in the latest episode of The ICC Review.

“Perth and Brisbane this time of year are normally great. So I don’t foresee any drawn games, and I

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