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Ricky Ponting is keen to continue leading Australia, despite his record of being the first captain, either English or Australian, to lose the Ashes twice. While others have lost more than one Ashes series, no-one other than him has lost twice where their side has entered both series as the holders.

It has also been over 100 years since an Aussie captain lost two away series against the old enemy, but despite this, perhaps because of it, Ponting is hoping to stay on in the job.

“I still think I’ve got a lot to offer the team, as a batsman and as a captain and as a leader,” said Ponting.

Many have questioned whether he could even be stood down from the job, questioning whether the side’s best batsman would want to continue playing under another captain. Ponting begs to differ.

“If it gets to the point I’m not the captain, my hunger and determination to keep playing are as good as ever.”

Ponting has come in for a lot of criticism from an Aussie media accustomed to victory, but having previously been lucky enough to captain a side chock full of all-time great players, he is now being forced to manage with more meagre resources.

Players like Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne are irreplaceable and as well as his bowlers have performed at different times, there is still a good deal of inconsistency from the bowlers. Mitchell Johnson, heralded as the best fast bowler in the world upon his arrival in England, is the prime example, folding under the spotlight in the first few Tests, before fighting back to show better form towards the end of this Ashes cricket tour.

These players will become more consistent with experience, which explains why Ponting is considering returning to England one more time.

The RFU may yet take further action against Harlequins following the incident where winger, Tom Williams, faked a blood injury using a blood capsule. Williams has claimed that Harlequins have discouraged him from revealing more information about the scam. The underhand tactic had been employed so that Quins’ goal kicker, Nick Evans, could return to the field for the last five minutes.

The RFU have fined the club £259,000, banned Williams for four months, banned the physio, Steph Brennan, for two years and banned Harlequins’ director of rugby, Dean Richards - who won six Lions caps on their 1989 and 1993 tours - a worldwide three year coaching ban.

Williams has testified that the club pressured him into not revealing further information, saying he had been offered a new contract on the provision that he did not say anything further to incriminate the club. He also claims to have been offered other benefits if he toed the line.

The chief executive of the RFU, Francis Baron, said of the incident:

“We don’t want to see any more incidents of this kind and the objective will be to ensure there will be no repetition. Everyone will be made aware of what the standards are. It’s our job as the governing body to make sure these things don’t happen again.”

It was a statistical quirk of the 2009 Ashes series that almost all of the top run-scorers were Australian and top three wicket-takers were also members of the touring side. The one exception was England’s captain, Andrew Strauss, who led by example in scoring more runs than any batsman on either side.

“When we were bad we were very bad and when we were good we managed to be good enough,” he said and that was really the story of the series. England won the crucial passages of play. One thinks back to Jimmy Anderson and Monty Panesar batting out 40 minutes in the first Test to save the game as being a prime example of this.

Australia captain, Ricky Ponting, seemed to agree, saying that when his side had had a bad session, it had inevitably been a very bad session. Several batting collapses put them in vulnerable positions throughout the series and conceding first innings deficits put them on the back foot in three of the matches.

The series also saw the final Test appearance of Andrew Flintoff, who will only play the shorter formats when he returns from his latest operation.

“This one is going to take some time to sink in,” he said. “Walking round the ground seeing family, I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. It’s a really special moment.”

A see-saw 2009 Ashes series was decided yesterday at the Brit Oval, with England taking the Ashes by two Tests to one.

Having beaten Australia at Lord’s for the first time in 75 years, England had given their lead away in the penultimate Test at Headingley, where they were beaten by an innings by an Australian side which seemed to have shaken off the uncharacteristic inconsistency that had plagued its tour.

Coming into the final Test, with England’s middle order looking fragile and Australia seemingly dominant once again, few would have given the home side much of a chance of emerging victorious. That feeling persisted after they made just 332 after winning the toss and choosing to bat.

The pitch had shown signs of very early deterioration as well as signs of taking spin on that first day, but the total still seemed a number of runs short at a ground where high scores are commonplace. When Australia reached 73-0, England supporters were pessimistic.

At that point, the entire series spun on its axis thanks to England’s new all-rounder, Stuart Broad. England’s talisman, Andrew Flintoff, might have been playing his final Test, but the spotlight belonged to the man who might prove to be his replacement. In a breathtaking spell of bowling, Broad destroyed Australia’s top order, taking 5-37 and from that point on, England were suddenly favourites.

The man so often referred to as England’s talisman, Andrew Flintoff, is set to play his final Test for England this week at the Oval.

Quite apart from it being Flintoff’s farewell appearance in white clothing – he is still available for one-day internationals and Twenty20 – it is also an Ashes decider, so there is no bigger stage for the Lancashire all-rounder to bow out on.

With the series at 1-1, England must win to regain the Ashes as Australia are the holders following their 5-0 victory in 2006-07. As ever, the presence of Flintoff is vital for the team, if only because his all-round abilities allow them to play five bowlers without having too long a tail.

Speaking about his chances of playing, Flintoff said:

“I’ve been working with (physio) Dave Roberts, had some batting over the weekend, and bowled on Tuesday. I’m confident I’ll come through. I’m probably in a better state than I was going into the third Test at Edgbaston. I think I’m more or less there, I just have to prove it.”

After an innings defeat at Headingley, where Flintoff didn’t play, England will be hoping he will return. Fairy stories are rare in top level sport, but would anyone bet against a man who, like Botham, seems to have his own personal scriptwriter drawing out his career?

Welsh captain, Ryan Jones, insists that he wishes to continue in the job, despite a sub-par season in 08-09.

Jones had been considered as potential captain for the Lions rugby tour to South Africa, but his poor form ultimately meant that he didn’t even make the squad.

While Jones prefers to play at number eight, Welsh coach, Warren Gatland, recently moved him over to the blindside in order to accommodate Andy Powell, leading to further speculation that the Ospreys star could be stood down from his post. It had been Powell who was picked ahead of Jones for the Lions tour also.

Jones took on the Welsh captaincy in 2006, taking over from Gareth Thomas and says:

“It would be someone else’s opinion to say I am not good enough for the job or don’t deserve it.”

However, Jones is confident that his poor form is behind him as he believes Scott Johnson taking over as director of rugby at Ospreys will have a big impact. Jones is aiming to lead by example under the new management, although he could still learn a thing or two playing alongside All Blacks legend, Jerry Collins.

England’s generally conservative selection policy would seem to indicate that Mark Ramprakash’s chances of playing in the fifth Ashes Test at the Oval are slim, but England national selector, Geoff Miller, said he wasn’t out of the running when the Surrey batsman’s chances of selection the other day.

For his part, Ramprakash himself says he would be ‘thrilled’ to make an unforeseen comeback in such a crucial match.

Ramprakash last played for England in 2002, but having averaged around 100 for the last three years, his name has repeatedly cropped up in England discussions. The closest he has come is being named as the reserve batsman for England’s cricket tour to Sri Lanka, although he was never called upon to join the squad in the end.

The England selectors generally show faith with players, but a poor run of form for Ravi Bopara batting at three and continuing doubts about Ian Bell’s suitability for Test cricket have meant Ramprakash’s name has been cropping up more and more with the fifth and final Ashes Test a must-win for England.

A Test average of just 27.32 may not do the Surrey batsman justice, but he perhaps justifiably claims that he is not the same batsman as he was then. Regardless of this fact, it would be a brave and uncharacteristic move by the selectors to recall a batsman who is almost 40 and who has long been thought to be lacking the necessary mental resilience for the Test game.

Ireland are currently organising their next training camp which will take place next weekend. The squad will change to a degree with players returning from the British Lions rugby tour and other players being dropped. Notable absentees will be the Ulster players Ryan Caldwell, Darren Cave, Isaac Boss and Niall O’Conner and Chris Henry.

It is of great pride to the Irish squad that thirteen of their players featured on the Lion’s tour and with the coming season now not a long way off the training camp will be an important time for the squad to come together and bond. Ireland coach Declan Kidney stated that at the previous training camp a lot of different players were given an opportunity but was looking forward to the Lions players being back in the fold.

Declan Kidney further stated

“A lot of players are being given an opportunity and from that point of view as well, we were happy with the spread of players we were in contact with in Belfast.”

“The Belfast camp was productive in that we were able to continue to work with the players and pick up where we left off from the summer tour and the Churchill Cup.”

The training camp will be held in Limerick between the 16th and 19th of August.

The Test at Headingley which starts at the end of the week is a must win for Australia after the sides settled for a draw at rain soaked Edgbaston. Not too much was said at the time about Australia’s performance but one point to note was the milestone reached by batsman Ricky Ponting, the highest Test run scorer ever for Australia.

With Andrew Flintoff struggling for fitness again, and the Headingley ground being a completely different proposition from the pitch at Edgbaston, England have given a shock call up to uncapped batsman Jonathan Trott. The right hander is included in the 14 man squad which also features seamer Ryan Sidebottom with Monty Panesar dropped.

Trott already has 831 first class runs this season and his average is an amazing 83. And with the hosts needing just one win from the remaining two games his introduction could be the stuff of every cricketer’s dreams. With pace bowling options in the form of Ryan Sidebottom and Steve Harmison the final eleven is yet to be decided.

Another question yet to be answered is whether Australia will include Brett Lee. The paceman has missed the first three Tests with a side strain and there are still some concerns over his fitness.
With the test only a couple of days away and the long range weather forecast looking good, this could be the weekend to watch the cricket.

Despite a ferocious first innings bowling performance and some lusty lower order hitting when they came to bat, England look set to draw at Edgbaston after rain greatly affected the chances of a result in the third Ashes Test.

Graham Onions and James Anderson were the stars with the ball as Australia’s vaunted batting line-up capitulated when faced with the swinging ball. However, they put up a better show second time around and England were left short of time to force a result.

The Test was also significant for Andrew Flintoff’s return to form with the bat as he top scored for England with 74 off just 79 balls, bringing back memories of his sterling performances at this ground in the last Ashes series in this country in 2005.

However, in the end, the weather meant that a positive result was impossible, with rain preventing play before 5pm on the first day and totally washing out the third day.

The third and fourth Ashes Tests are back to back, so the two sides face each other again on Friday at Headingley, where hopefully more play will be possible.