Australian captain weakness in England batting for Ashes

Australia captain Ricky Ponting has identified weaknesses in the England batting which he hopes his team can exploit when the Ashes series begins in just three months.



England's batting has collapsed in all but one of their six innings of their current series against an inexperienced Pakistan side to lead only 2-1. The latest capitulation featured seven wickets falling for just 28 runs at The Oval in England and allowed Pakistan to claim victory after two heavy defeats.



England captain Andrew Strauss and coach Andy Flower have acknowledged the team needs to avoid losing wickets in clusters, and the fallibility has not been missed by Ponting, who is seeking to regain the Ashes after Australia were beaten 2-1 in 2009.



The series begins in Brisbane, Australia, on November 25.



Ponting says there are probably a few little cracks starting to open up with England, particularly with the batting side of things.



Strauss has been dismissed to left-arm pace bowling in his last five completed innings. Australia have two such bowlers with Mitchell Johnson and Doug Bollinger. Four of England's top six are averaging less than 30, while Strauss is without a test century in 13 months.



However, Ponting believes England will keep faith with rookie number six batsman Eoin Morgan rather than recall the established Ian Bell when he recovers from a broken foot.