Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting said he is curious to see how England will play in their second innings on day three of the fifth and final Ashes Test at The Oval on Saturday. England will begin their second innings on day three with trailing Australia by 12 runs after the tourists were all out for 295 in reply to the hosts’ total of 283. In their first innings, England suffered batting collapses of 3-11 and 4-28 on day one of the Test at The Oval. "I am intrigued to see how hard England go.
They got bowled out at Edgbaston trying to set the game up early and gave Australia a sniff. Are they going to go hard again and chance those little collapses we saw on day one here or will it be a bit more circumspect? Will there be a mixture of out-and-out Bazball and traditional cricket?" said Ponting to Sky Sports.
On the other hand, former England batter Mark Butcher stated he wishes to see England play smart on Day 3 while respecting the situations where they won't be needed to attack from the word go.
"What I hope will happen is that they will go out with that intent but then recognise periods in the game when they might have to sit in. If they do that and have a number in mind they want to defend, then get there however you feel best to get there. Don't go against your attacking instincts but be smart," said Butcher.
