Treat upcoming Ashes series like any other: Ponting by CricketArchive Staff Reporter

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Player:

RT Ponting

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DateLine: 25th July 2006

 

Australian captain Rickey Ponting on Tuesday said the team must treat the upcoming Ashes series against England like any other to avoid the performance anxiety that contributed to them losing the trophy last year.

 

“Sometimes the more you build things up the harder it can be to perform. We'll make sure that we're not treating it any differently or any more seriously than any other series we've played in," Ponting said.

 

The Australian captain said part of the reason his side lost the Ashes for the first time in 18 years last September was because his players concentrated too much on the significance of the series. “We all wanted it so much. We got ourselves under pressure in a couple of Test matches because we wanted to win so much and I think that actually got in the way,” he said.