Combined Australia-England Ashes XI

3. Ricky Ponting

During his playing days, Ricky Ponting was famous for butchering the confidence of bowlers in Test cricket. His presence on the field used to daunt his opponents, as the Aussie was known for batting to perfection with his temperament and skills. In the longest format of the game, he is still the second-most successful batter with 13'378 runs in 287 innings of 168 matches at an average of 51.85.

Discussing his numbers against England in The Ashes, the Aussie smashed 2'476 runs in 58 innings from 35 appearances at a staggering average of 61.53. These batting figures define his influence in the blockbuster rivalry. In 2005, Ashes was played in England. Captaining Australia in the Ashes for the first time in 2005, Ponting looked positive as a batter but couldn’t win the competition for his team.

In the Ashes 2006-07, Australia hosted England and the former held the urn with their one-sided 5-0 triumph. Ponting, who was captaining his side for the second time in the Ashes, led from the front and became the highest run-getter with 576 runs in eight innings from five matches. For his magnificent batting display, he also got the Player of the Tournament award.