Ponting said he was as excited about this series as he had been about any other. What did you make of that?It was interesting to hear him saying that. Michael Clarke, the vice-captain, said much the same thing of his captain yesterday, which leads you to believe that what he is saying is probably true. This could be Ponting's last Ashes tour and if he was to lose a second on the spin in England it would leave an awful stain on what has been a tremendous career. He will be desperate to avoid that.
He seemed in a very relaxed mood throughout the press conference. Did that surprise you?
I thought he was extremely impressive actually. He was totally unfazed by it all. When you listen to the Australian players talking about the Ashes and what it means to them it can seem that the whole thing means more to them than the England players. Maybe that's slightly unfair. You really get the impression they know the importance of playing for Australia and beating England in the Ashes. For instance, we heard that in team meetings over the past month or so, each of the players has either spoken of his favourite memories of the Ashes when growing up or as a player. Ponting revealed his own recollections to his team this morning. It is touches like that, that make this Australian side one to fear.
He made a point of talking up the ability of his side. Is that just a captain building his players up or does he really believe what he is saying?
I can't believe that Ricky Ponting thinks that this Australia side is anywhere near the best he has played in. But we must remember this is a team that beat South Africa in South Africa in the winter. He didn't attempt to hide the loss of Brett Lee, he admitted that was a big blow but he did speak of his confidence in this squad. He didn't go as far as making predictions, but he was clearly keen to give his players a lift before tomorrow.
Are Australia better prepared than England?
They could well be. The warm-up matches Australia had against Sussex at Hove and against the England Lions were played at small grounds, not used to hosting Test matches. They were played in front of biggish crowds and both sides really came at them. England on the other hand played Warwickshire at Edgbaston where they were stuck out on a strip way out on one side of the square and played in front of a small crowd. So in some senses Australia are slightly more battle hardened and that could give them an edge tomorrow.
Maybe in the future that is something England need to look at, possibly lining up matches against England Lions where the embarrassment factor could really motivate the England players.
Ponting said this side would not make the same mistakes they did in 2005. What did he mean by that?
He said Australia had lost the key moments in 2005, but in many minds the turning point of that series came when Glen McGrath turned his ankle before the Edgbaston Test. I know the Australians have been working hard on both playing and bowling reverse swing, which was certainly an area they lost out in 2005.
Did Ponting try to imply that Australia's lack of stars means they are more of a team this time around?
It is possible that could be the case. In 2005 they did have a few off the field problems and people like Matthew Hayden, Adam Gilchrist and Jason Gillespie just failed to perform. This time round they have a number of strong, functional cricketers who may not quite have the outrageous talent, but may be more consistent performers. I would put Mike Hussey, Simon Katich, Peter Siddle and Brad Haddin in that group. It all makes for a fascinating battle.
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