According to the BBC Sport website, Australian captain Ricky Ponting, possibly the hairiest man to ever play cricket since Biffo the Bear, is surprised that Andrew Flintoff has been given the captains role for the upcoming Ashes series.

“I did think Strauss would get the nod. We will have to wait and see what sort of job Flintoff does,” said Ponting.

He also questions the inclusion of Ashley Giles and James Anderson due to their current injuries. 

In the same article the Pie Eater likens Andrew Strauss and Freddie to Laurel and Hardy.

“They remind me a bit of Laurel and Hardy - in that they are different characters who complement each other nicely.”
Shane Warne

Click here to read the BBC Sport article in full. 

The verbal battles have started and there’s still 70 days to go until the 1st Test! Fantastic! As I recall Old Man McGrath suggested that they would beat us 5-0 in the last series. Mind you, Hoggy suggested that McGrath was over the hill before the Lord’s test and look what happened then…

It’s all part of the psychology of cricket and I’m looking forward to reading the banter over the next few months and, of course, writing about it here

Tags : Andrew Flintoff, Ricky Ponting, Shane Warne, The Ashes, Cricket, England, Australia