CRICKET WORLD

Australia capped off a perfect summer of Test cricket with a 176-run win over New Zealand on Wednesday - and skipper Ricky Ponting feels his side are now ready to reclaim the Ashes.

The Australians arrived in New Zealand after clean-sweeping Pakistan and then West Indies in Tests and soon added another series win after two solid victories over the Kiwis.

The next big mission on Australia's calendar is the coveted Ashes series and they will be desperate for revenge after England took the honours last year.

Ponting believes his team have come through the summer perfectly and reckons everything is in order to mount a good challenge for the 2010 Ashes series that begins on home soil in November.

"I don't think we could be in a better place," he said following the win over the Black Caps in Hamilton.

"There will be no excuses from us because we've done everything that I would have liked to achieve this summer and we've done it well.

"Now that we've got a good successive run of wins under our belt there's a great confidence in the group so we can look forward to the Ashes knowing we've done most things as well as we can.

"The summer was really good for us, I think. There were probably some question marks over our Test cricket before the summer about being inconsistent through the Ashes series.

"Our consistency and our general level of play has been a little bit higher so I'm really proud of what the group's been able to do - especially when you consider all the cricket that we've had to play."

Ponting paid special tribute to Mitchell Johnson after the win in Hamilton. The workhorse left-arm quick claimed 10 wickets to end what has been a tumultuous two years of cricket.

Johnson, who has been the go-to man for Australia over the last couple of years, consistently bowled around 150kph and was far too good for the Kiwi batsmen.

Ponting labelled the New Zealand tour as the best he has ever seen Johnson bowl.

"He shouldered a massive workload as well," said Ponting.

"We tried to give him a rest here and there to keep him fresh but it says a lot about his physical condition and what great shape he's in.

"To be able to bowl as quick as he did after two years of non-stop cricket says a lot about him.

"This tour has probably been the best and most consistent I've seen him bowl."