Legendary Australian batter Ricky Ponting made his return to the commentary box just 24 hours after experiencing what he described as “short, sharp pains” in his chest.
While commentating during day Three of the first Test match between Australia and West Indies at Perth, Ponting suffered a health scare following which he underwent medical examinations.
He was driven to the hospital by Australia’s team doctor Leigh Golding and reported a feeling of dizziness to his commentary colleague and former teammate Justin Langer and Seven’s head of cricket Chris Jones.
Speaking about the events later, Ponting was quoted as saying by the Sydney Morning Herald, “I probably scared a lot of people yesterday and had a little scary moment for myself to be honest. I was sitting in the comms box halfway through the stint, and got a couple of really short, sharp pains through my chest. I tried to stretch it out and get rid of it and probably did not give too much away when I was on-air.”
“But I had a couple of those sort of incidents, got through the stint, got up, went to walk to the back of the commentary box and got a bit light-hearted and dizzy and grabbed the bench,” he added.
After experiencing discomfort, Ponting had talked about how he was feeling to Langer and Jones.
“I mentioned to JL on the way out, he was commentating with me, that I had these pains in my chest. Chris Jones heard me as well, and basically, those two just grabbed me straight away and got me out of there, and 10 or 15 minutes later I was in the hospital getting the best treatment I possibly could.”
“I feel great this morning, I am all shiny and new. But I think the bottom line is the fact I was willing to share it … as people of our age we are probably a little bit reluctant to share much and talk much about our health especially, and that is really a good learning curve for me yesterday, especially with what’s happened over the last 12 or 18 months with really close people around us,” he concluded.
It has been a difficult couple of years for Australian cricket as far as heart health is concerned. This year, the game lost two of the biggest legends to wear Australian colours, Rod Marsh and Shane Warne in March.
Dean Jones, another Australian batter also suddenly passed away due to a heart attack in September 2020. Also, former Western Australia wicketkeeper and more recently Netherlands coach, Ryan Campbell also experienced a cardiac episode in April this year, due to which he almost died.
Ponting has represented Australia in 168 Tests, having scored 13,378 runs at an average of 51.85, with 41 tons and 62 fifties.
In 375 ODIs, he scored 13,704 runs at an average of 42.03, with 30 centuries and 82 fifties.
In 17 T20Is, he made 401 runs at an average of 28.64 and scored two fifties.
He was a part of the Australian team that won three straight 50-over World Cups in 1999, 2003 and 2007, leading the side to triumphs in later two tournaments as skipper.