Cricket: Ponting Takes Vengeance To Ashes Series

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The bitter taste of Ashes defeat still lingers with Australia captain Ricky Ponting and he expects it to inspire his team’s effort when the first Test of the 2010-11 Ashes series begins today.

Just as the 2005 Ashes loss spurred Australia to a 5-0 whitewash victory in 2006-07 series, Ponting believes the quest for vengeance will again be a powerful motivation for a team that is expected to start with 10 of the 11 players who lost at the Oval in 2009.

“That’s a really big part of how we’re playing this series,” Ponting said on Wednesday.

“We took in our own disappointment and made sure it hurt them as much as possible. That’s what has been driving me. It’s about that empty feeling that we’ve had at the Oval in two successive Ashes tours.”

The sole member of the expected team that didn’t play in the 2009 Ashes is debutant spinner Xavier Doherty, who was selected ahead of incumbent spinner Nathan Hauritz.

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