An exciting prospect in store - Ponting

Ricky Ponting has said that the engrossing Ashes series could be a precursor to an even more vibrant encounter when Australia take on the World XI in October's ICC Super Series. Currently locked at one-all, the ongoing series between England and Australia has already swung both ways; England stand to win it for the first time since 1986, and Australia have expressed horror at the thought of relinquishing the trophy. It has made for a dynamic tussle.

After the World XI teams were announced, Cricket Australia released a press statement by Ricky Ponting. "It will be an amazing experience to play against a side of this caliber and I think for those players in the World XI, it will be an equally exciting prospect to play in a team alongside the game's greats," AFP reported. "No doubt the Australian public is talking about the tight Ashes battle that we're currently in, and hopefully, that can whet people's appetites for even more great cricket in October. We've spent some time on the bus journeys around England, trying to predict the World XI. There's no doubt that this is a highly impressive line-up."

The Test opposition includes Brian Lara, Andrew Flintoff, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Muttiah Muralitharan, Steve Harmison and Virender Sehwag - all of whom have dazzled against Australia. The Test and one-day series have been given official status to add purpose to their dazzle, and are the prime draw in the cricketing calendar after the Ashes until India tour Pakistan in 2006.

James Sutherland, the chief executive of Cricket Australia, said that this was the biggest cricket event Australia had held since the World Cup in 1992. "This is the ultimate sporting contest - the best team in the world against a team of the world's best players. The ICC World XI is a star-studded line-up and we are looking forward to seeing how Australia's challenge against the ICC World XI will unfold. We have seen over the past month or so the intense excitement and interest that surrounds a genuine contest between two evenly matched teams. England is challenging Australia and we are going to see the likes of Andrew Flintoff, Steve Harmison and Kevin Pietersen taking them on again in October at the Super Series.