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London: Australia captain Ricky Ponting believes "things are coming together nicely" for his team ahead of the Ashes after they thrashed Pakistan by 150 runs in the first Test at Lord's.
Victory, achieved with more than a day to spare in the opening match of a series being played in England because of security concerns in Pakistan, gave Australia a seventh straight Test win.
It was also their 13th in a row over Pakistan, a new record for one country over another.
There was a twist in the tale of this contest, with Australia part-time off-spinner Marcus North exceeding all expectations by taking a Test-best six wickets for 55 runs on Friday.
This match had already seen medium-pacer Shane Watson take his Test-best of five for 40 in Pakistan's first innings.
Meanwhile Simon Katich, averaging nearly 57 as an opener since returning to the Test side in 2008, continued his fine form with valuable scores of 80 and 83 in overcast conditions that made life tough for batsmen.
Defeat was all too much for Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi, who announced his intention to retire from Test cricket after the second and final match of this series at Headingley next week.
But Ponting's focus is on a future which includes regaining the Ashes from England - who start a four-Test series against Pakistan later this month - in Australia when cricket's oldest Test rivalry resumes in November.
England have not won Ashes in Australia since 1986.
"Things are coming together nicely," Ponting told reporters.
"Without being silly, we've all got one eye on stuff that's happening later in the year and these steps this week have been good ones in the right direction as far as keeping on improving our Test cricket," the star batsman added.
Australia's Tim Paine and Steven Smith both enjoyed impressive Test debuts. Tasmania wicketkeeper Paine missed nothing and stumped dangerman Salman Butt to start Pakistan's collapse on Friday while leg-spinner Smith took three for 51.
That was a big moment in the game. Butt was playing beautifully and they're the sort of chances you hope your keeper takes.
I thought he had an outstanding debut, as did Smith, and both of those guys will learn a lot from the experience here.
