Cricket: Ponting sends Ashes message

Australia has delivered the first bouncer of the Ashes battle, taking over one of London's iconic landmarks.

The faces of captain Ricky Ponting and vice-captain Michael Clarke stare out over London alongside the famous clockface of Big Ben, with the reminder: "Don't forget to pack the urn."

The banner was erected in the middle of the night on Wednesday for Londoners to wake up to on Thursday morning, giving the English cricket team time to see it before they fly out to Australia on Friday.

Ponting said the stunt was meant to put England on notice.

"Winning the urn back from our age-old rival is the most prized achievement for Australians and we just wanted to send them a reminder not to leave the urn behind," Ponting said.

"Our message is clear - we're prepared and we're ready, so bring on the Ashes."

Clarke said the Ashes series would be an opportunity for the Australian team to show what it's made of.

"The Ashes is the ultimate cricket battle between our nations and this year will be no exception," Clarke said.

"The team will have to dig deep and deliver.

"We have some new faces in the squad this series who didn't play in England last time. So they're fresh and excited to be part of their first Ashes tour."

- AAP