How Australia plan to do a number on Ashes rivals

As Australia's men's Test team searches for every incremental advantage to end their barren run in Ashes series fought in the UK, former Test captain Ricky Ponting believes the analysis of data might be the tool to provide a winning edge.

Ponting, who was part of the most recent Australia Ashes outfit to triumph away from home in 2001, notes that the application of detailed statistical information and complex data sets was almost unknown when he was playing.

He said the strategies employed by the Test team during their golden playing era that stretched for a decade from the mid-1990s were comprehensive, but more often based on observational or anecdotal evidence.

"It was probably stuff you knew, you had an inkling back when I was playing … that (Glenn) McGrath would bowl well to certain guys, or you knew (Jason) Gillespie would bowl well to certain guys," Ponting told cricket.com.au.

"You probably knew that in the back of your mind, but you didn't have the facts or the stats to back it all up.

"I think it’s really important now, that you look really deep into all the data that you can come up with to try and find ways to be the best team that you can.

"To put the best team on the park.

"There's a lot of that data-driven stuff that can be used in selections because once you start trawling through or digging really deep, there's a lot of really interesting stuff that you can find."

An example of the type of data mining Ponting cites relates to the preponderance of left-handed batters in the Australia Test line-up's current top-order.

Selectors were faced with the prospect of including five left-handers in the top six of the starting line-up for the first Test at Edgbaston – openers David Warner and Marcus Harris, followed by Usman Khawaja, Travis Head and Matthew Wade.

While selection chair Trevor Hohns acknowledged that the team will be selected on batting form rather than whether players are right or left-handed, he added that was a consideration which had figured in discussions over the make-up of the 17-man Ashes touring party.

As Ponting has pointed out, statistics reveal England off-spinner Moeen Ali boasts a far better Test record against left-handed batters than right, so Australia would be negligent if they were not mindful of that numerical fact.

Then there's the decisions to be made on whether a left/right hand opening combination of Warner and Cameron Bancroft might be more effective against England's new ball pair James Anderson and Stuart Broad than left-handers Warner and Harris.

According to data collected since Australia's 5-0 Ashes whitewash in 2006-07, Anderson's Test career record shows he returns a similar average against right (26.8 runs per wicket) and left handers (25.9).

However, that disparity is far greater for Broad who has averaged significantly less bowling to right-handers (26.2) than left-handers (35.2).

To address that imbalance leading into the 2015 Ashes campaign in England, in which Broad destroyed Australia with his spell of 8-15 on the opening morning at Trent Bridge, the England quick made a conscious change to his bowling to improve his efficiency against left-handers.

That included operating around the wicket to bring the stumps into play (should he angle the ball in) as well as the slips cordon if the ball held its line or moved away.

It's that sort of intelligence that's gathered and interpreted by Australia men's team data analyst (and former Tasmania opener) Dene Hills who has access to highly detailed breakdowns of the bowlers' methodology against individual opponents.

As coach of the Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League T20 competition, Ponting knows the immediate availability of that data to off-field staff is as crucial as the raw statistics themselves.

"If it's Warner and Harris – say they're going to be opening the batting - I want to know (the breakdown)," Ponting said.

"We know that Anderson and Broad are probably going to be there (throughout the five-Test Ashes series) so how do they go to left handers?

"If they've got an average of 15 against lefties and 35 against righties then we’re playing into their hands (with so many left-handers)."

As Ponting notes, the sheer volume of material available to teams is not restricted to snapshots of individual players and conditions unique to specific playing venues.

It can also deliver broader analysis of trends and patterns of play than can inform training regimes and pathway development programs in the hope of yielding longer-term results and success.

"When you look at Australia's record on the road in Test match cricket, are there any patterns there?," Ponting said, aware that in the past decade Australia's winning ratio in Tests away from home has been 33 per cent.

"Why have we been so poor on the road? What do we need to get better at?

"Any way that we can work that out (will be beneficial).

"A lot of time it’s to dig deep into the stats and find out why."

 While the use of data and specialised ball-plotting technology is now spreading into all forms of cricket, Ponting acknowledges that it was the search for advantages in the hugely competitive T20 leagues that drove the revolution.

In much the same way as the 'Moneyball' model changed professional baseball in the US, the hunt for statistical nuggets that might deliver a small but telling uplift in cricket performance is a trend that's here to stay.

"I just think it’s the modern game, and a lot of it is probably T20 driven," Ponting said.

"(There are) so many different individuals and countries and franchises and state teams that have different databases and different programs.

"They use those to try and come up with the right solutions, and find the right answers to picking teams or trying to win games of cricket.

"So it’s definitely more in the game now than it was when I was playing, and T20 cricket has probably led the way with it."

2019 Qantas Ashes Tour of England

Australia squad: Tim Paine (c), Cameron Bancroft, Pat Cummins, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Michael Neser, James Pattinson, Peter Siddle, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner.

England squad: Joe Root (c), Moeen Ali, Jimmy Anderson, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Joe Denly, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes (vc), Olly Stone, Chris Woakes.

First Test: August 1-5,Edgbaston

Tour match: Australians v Worcestershire, August 7-9

Second Test: August 14-18,Lord's

Third Test: August 22-26, Headingley

Tour match: Australians v Derbyshire, August 29-31

Fourth Test: September 4-8, Old Trafford

Fifth Test: September 12-16, The Oval