Captain Ricky Ponting has dismissed talks of Australia being under prepared for the World Twenty20 Championships by missing the IPL and said his side was instead "in the best shape" following the break before the big event.

Australia captain Riicky Ponting made a virtue of his decision to skip the lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL) in South Africa, saying he is "relaxed and rejuvenated" by forgoing the rewards to be picked from the Twenty20 tournament ahead of the long Ashes summer.

Australian captain Ricky Ponting has said next month''s Twenty20 championship would have little or no impact on the hotly debated bowling line-up for the first Test against England.

Australia will play six Tests on home soil in the southern summer, hosting the West Indies and then Pakistan in back-to-back series.

AUSTRALIA has requested assistance from England officials to help solve its biggest selection dilemma leading into the 2009 Ashes.

Before this week the correct approach to the summer's Ashes series has been to say that you're just not letting yourself think about it. It's not on your mind at all.

WINNING the Ashes will be as easy as 1-2-3, according to Matthew Hayden, the former Australia opening batsman, who sees the battle between his heirs and the England opening trio as crucial to the destiny of the series.

ENGLAND is confidently predicting the demise of Australia's left-handed batsmen at the hands of their swing bowlers, but Mitchell Johnson understands the intricate principles of swings and roundabouts and reckons England's batsmen might have a similar problem.

Australia's Ashes squad: Ricky Ponting (Captain) Age 34 (Tasmania). Right-handed batsman. 131 Tests. 10,960 runs. Average 56.21. Highest score 257. 37x100s. 46x50s. 148 catches. Won 38 of 56 Tests as captain with nine losses.

CAPTAIN Ricky Ponting has given the nod for controversial all-rounder Andrew Symonds to be named when Australia's Ashes squad is announced today.