Chilling prospect looms for Aussie skipper Ponting.

Byline: AFP 

SYDNEY: Australia s collapse in the third Test has raised the chilling prospect that Ricky Ponting could become just the second Australian captain to lose two Ashes series in England, press said on Saturday.

Australia s batsmen succumbed to the England swing duo of James Anderson and Graham Onions on Friday, losing seven wickets in the pre-lunch session to leave them precariously placed after the second day of the Edgbaston Test.

In reply England were 116 for two at close of play, a deficit of 147 runs after Australia had been bowled out for 263 from an overnight 126 for one.

Ponting showed no joy when he passed Allan Border to become his nation s highest run scorer, The Australian said. "It is an extraordinary feat. Allan Border was 38 and had played 156 Tests when he retired with a then world record 11,174 and an average of 50. Ponting, 34, has passed it in 134 Tests with an average of 56," it said.

Ponting s leadership was never needed as much as it is now, the newspaper said, with Australia "spooked" again by the swinging ball.

"Ricky Ponting stands proudly amongst the very finest players the game has produced but there is one telling record he is desperate to avoid," The Australian s Malcolm Conn said.

"Unless his team can show more than it has managed in the past one-and-a-half Tests, Ponting is in danger of becoming just the second captain of Australia to be in charge of two Ashes series defeats in England.

"The only other is Australia s first touring captain, Billy Murdoch, well over a century ago."

The Daily Telegraph s Ben Dorries said Australia s bid to claw their way back into Ashes contention from 1-0 down was in trouble as the 2005 (series) reverse swing Ashes nightmare returned.

"In scenes reminiscent of how Simon Jones got the old ball to swing around corners in 2005, Onions and Anderson wobbled the ball everywhere and both took their best figures against Australia," he said.

Former Test spinner Greg Matthews said Australia s batting display had been disappointing.

"They lost 7/77 in the first session. The last two pairs put on 60 runs when the ball was still swinging, so what s going on there " Matthews said on SBS TV.

Ponting tended to be denied the recognition he deserved for his batting achievements, The Sydney Morning Herald s Peter Roebuck said.

"The problem is simple. Whatever he does, he will remain the second-best number three Australia has produced," the columnist wrote.

"Of course, it is absurd to put him or anyone else alongside Don Bradman, but that has been his fate. As a result, he tends to be denied some of the acclaim he deserves."

Veteran ABC radio commentator Jim Maxwell said while Anderson and Onions swung the ball deceptively, in contrast Australia struggled to swing the ageing ball in England s first innings.

Muscat Press and Publishing House SAOC 2009

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