Ian Chappell talks to Star Cricket’s Cricket Extra about the recently-concluded Ashes series.

By Jatin Sapru and Divya Bhagat

Q: What does this defeat do to Australia and can we say that Australia's dominance is a thing of the past?
A: The result is not really a great shock. The two teams were evenly matched. Australia were favourites before the series started. Ponting will be very disappointed at the moment. But for sure he'll be working on that and Australia can get better.

Q: There will be a lot of criticism for Ricky Ponting. But given the fact that he has a younger side, is it right to blame him?
A: The captain always gets the blame when you lose. He went for quantity of deliveries in the end rather than quality of deliveries. Ponting will get some criticism. But if that goes as far as saying that he should be sacked as captain then it's wrong. He is the best man to captain Australia. If we were to sack Ponting as a captain, there's every chance of losing Australia's best batsman.

Q: His counterpart Andrew Strauss had a great series, biggest for an English skipper and he led from the front. How do you rate Strauss as a batsman and a skipper?
A: I think Strauss did a good job. He played well and if he does that as a captain that helps to build the team's confidence. They look at you and think that ‘we can rely on this guy'. Having the respect of your teammates is very important. Strauss turned things around after the disaster at Headingley. He has to be given a lot of credit when the team turned it around so quickly.

Q: Australia now have the rebuilding process staring for them. What are your expectations?
A: I don't think there'll be major changes in the Australian side. The two big issues will be what to do with Brett Lee and Stuart Clark. Both these guys are coming to the end of their careers. The Australians had success with their younger pace bowlers in South Africa but that wasn't the case in England. It may be the end for Clark because Siddle may not be very accurate but he brings few other things to the Australian attack.

Q: What were the positives for the Aussies?
A: The fact that they had players leading the runs and wickets charts proves that they played well. Marcus North was a class apart in batting. Shane Watson has also shown that he can bat in the top six.