Who is the best No. 4 batter in Tests? Not Virat Kohli, Sachin Tendulkar, Joe Root or Brian Lara; Ricky Ponting picks this cricketer | Cricket News

Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting was recently asked to pick his best number. 4 batter in Test cricket ahead of the Ashes series which begins on Friday.Firstly, taking into account the choice to choose between Kevin Pietersen and Mahela Jayawardene, Ponting chose Pietersen. Then Ponting chose Kevin Pietersen (KP) over Mark Waugh and then former Pakistan cricketer Javed Miandad over KP. Subsequently, the former captain of the Australian men’s cricket team chose his compatriot Steve Smith over Miandad. He then chose Steve Smith over West Indian legend Brian Lara and former South Africa all-rounder Jacques Kallis.

Then presented with a tough choice between Steve Smith and Virat Kohli, Ponting opted for Smith. Then he also chose Smith over England slugger Joe Root, saying: “Smith’s average is obviously better, Root has 13,500 runs. I always go with Steve Smith.”Finally, he was asked to choose between Steve Smith and Sachin Tendulkar, and Ponting chose Smith as the best No.4 in Test cricket. Ricky Ponting also gave his predictions on the upcoming Ashes series. While Australia have held the Ashes since 2018 and have only lost four Test matches against England at home since the turn of the century, Ponting believes England will be competitive in the five-match Test series Down Under.“I don’t think there will be any draws, just because of the way England are playing,” Ponting was quoted as saying by the ICC’s official website.“If the weather is reasonable in the Australian summer, we know the biggest concern over the last 15 years has been Sydney, with the number of days we’ve lost there,” he said.“Perth and Brisbane at this time of year are normally good, so I’m not expecting any draws and I just think it’s going to be really, really close,” he added.“So I’ll make it 3-2 for Australia,” he noted.