London, June 23 Australian skipper Ricky Ponting has said that he loves Leicester, where his team has been based after their early exit from the Twenty20 World Cup.

The skipper further said that Australian players are perfectly prepared for their Ashes tour.

Ponting and his team spent a week in the East Midlands city after their shock early exit. The Australians have been based in Leicester for a 12-day training camp and their captain admits they are desperate to play a competitive game again, even though the fact that it is now 12-a-side means the fixture has lost its first class status.

"Some of my comments about Leicester were taken the wrong way. There weren't any positives about us going to Leicester because it meant we were out of the tournament early - it was nothing to do with the place," The Sun quoted Ponting, as saying.

"But we got the best practice facilities we could have hoped for and the nets were great," he added.

Australia begin their tour tomorrow with a four-day match against Sussex. And Ponting said: "There is a lot of excitement." (ANI)