'Nostalgic' Ponting says prospect of playing in Ashes still 'tugs at heartstrings'

Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting has revealed that the prospect of watching from the sidelines still 'tugs at his heartstrings' and makes him feel like competing again in the Ashes even as Australia prepares its bid to wrest the urn back after losing the first series 3-0 away to England.

The success of Ponting, who has reminisced over the highs and lows of his career in his autobiography 'At The Close Of Play', has been tempered by his record against England, with the 3-1 series defeat on home soil in 2011 leaving him the only Australian skipper to lose three Ashes series in over 100 years.

However, Sport24 reports that the former batting star still relishes the Ashes series despite his disappointments in the past, saying that he wishes that he could play again the series as they were the pinnacle for him, adding that being a part of the Ashes squad was the premier thing in his mind when he was growing up and when he later joined the team.

However, Ponting admitted that even if he still desires to play in the Ashes, he realises that he cannot play in the way he used to play in the past, adding that he is now looking forward to whatever the future throws up at him.

Australia had wanted Ponting to hold on until the Ashes, reasoning that his experience and value as a mentor would offset a declining output of runs, as his retirement and the exit of fellow veteran batsman Mike Hussey left captain Michael Clarke to lead a callow team into one of its toughest campaigns in recent years, the report added.