Ponting can't get Ashes out of his head

Australia's series against Pakistan is not yet finished but Ricky Ponting's men are already looking ahead to next summer's Ashes with "a lot of excitement". Australia have not suffered a Test defeat following the loss at The Oval last year and with only four more five-day games between this week's Hobart match and the start of the Ashes in November, Ponting is already challenging his side to keep improving so they can regain the urn.

"If we don't want to keep pushing ourselves and improving then we won't get any better," Ponting said ahead of the final fixture against Pakistan. "We'll just keep looking forward to that Ashes series. We're already talking about it this morning - that's a good sign, because there'll be a lot of excitement around. There's certainly a lot of excitement around for the players already but we'll make sure we finish off this summer in the best way we possibly can first."

Between the two Ashes series, Australia's only Test opponents will have been Pakistan, West Indies and New Zealand, so it might be hard to gauge how they will fare against Andrew Strauss's men. England, on the other hand, are in impressive form having saved two nail-biting Tests in South Africa, where they hold a 1-0 lead, and any fans who hope for another Australian Ashes clean-sweep are naively optimistic.

"It will definitely make for a great summer next year," Ponting said. "In three of the last six or seven Tests they've played they've managed to hold on for draws like that, the first one against us [in Cardiff] and then two over there [in Centurion and Cape Town]. Little things like that, although you're never in the position to win a game, they can still be the difference between winning and losing a series, as we saw with our Ashes series.

"They're definitely playing some good cricket. I think overall their bowling attack has come together really well. Anderson and Onions and Swann have done a great job for them of late. Collingwood and those guys have held their batting together pretty well, so they're playing some good cricket at the moment. I must admit, I thought South Africa might have been a bit too strong for them over there."

The pain of losing the Ashes in England for a second time encouraged Ponting to think about returning on the 2013 tour. He may not make it that far, but he certainly will be in charge when the first opportunity for revenge arrives at the Gabba in November and he wants his men to continue in the way they have attacked this summer.

"We're trying to make a statement every day," he said. "It's as simple as that. Whether it's our training or our game and our play, we're trying to make as many statements as we can as a group. The statements we've made over the last few weeks have been pretty loud and pretty clear."