Ricky Ponting the match, Ponting's batting average peaked at 59.99. The Third Test played at the WACA Ground saw another win to Australia by 206 runs to reclaim the Ashes; Ponting made 2 and 75. The 15 months they had been in English hands was the shortest period either nation had held the urn. Further wins in Melbourne and Sydney, made Ponting's team the second team (after Warwick Armstrong's Australian team in 1920–21) to win an Ashes series 5–0, and that against what had been thought to be a formidable team, the second strongest cricketing team in the world. Ponting was awarded
Ricky Ponting Ponting slid out of the top ten Test batting rankings—dropping to 12th—as Australia faced the prospect of falling to third in the team rankings if they were not able to achieve victory in the final Test of the series. Matters got worse for Ponting, as former Australian fast-bowler Rodney Hogg voiced that he should be sacked as captain and replaced with New South Wales leader Simon Katich. He said the team had become a "boys club" and was not preparing adequately for the future. However, former Australian Test opening batsman Justin Langer labelled Hogg's comments as "rubbish", something that was