Ashes loss a good thing, says Ponting

"I don’t think it was a bad thing for the team or for Australian cricket, to tell the truth," Ponting said yesterday at the launch of his book Ashes Diary 2005.

"It was a learning curve for a lot of us. I certainly think and felt that I learned a lot through the Ashes tour. I think a lot of the players learned a lot about themselves as well. Since we’ve been back we’ve managed to turn things around quite drastically and dramatically."

Ponting became the first Australian captain to lose the Ashes since 1986-87 when his team was beaten 2-1 in the five-match series that finished in mid-September in England. Since then, Australia has won three limited-overs and a Test match against a World XI side and beaten the West Indies by 379 runs in the first of three Tests.

Ponting said the Ashes defeat had helped renew the focus and desire for a team which had become accustomed to easy victories.

"Just to sort of make us aware of some of the areas in which we were a bit deficient, and give the players and the coaches something to go away and focus on," Ponting said.

In his diary entry for September 12, the day the Ashes were lost, Ponting said the 2-1 margin probably flattered Australia.

"The hardest thing about our defeat is that we know what went wrong— we failed with the bat, lacked penetration and control with the ball (Warne and McGrath excepted), dropped catches, bowled far too many no balls and lost Glenn McGrath to injury for the vital Edgbaston Test.

"England played well, putting us under pressure with bat and ball. Despite their excellence, we should still have been able to compete far more effectively than we did."

Ponting said of the touring squad, only Shane Warne played to his full potential.

"The rest of us have just hinted at the form we are capable of, and that has cost us the series," he wrote.

Yesterday, Ponting admitted the education could have come at less of a cost.

"It would have been nice to have won 2-1 and still learn a few lessons along the way," he said.