- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Australian cricket legend Ricky Ponting will return on Saturday to call the Test Match between Australia and the West Indies after being rushed to hospital in Perth after a heart scare while commentating on the first Test against the West Indies on Friday.
The 47-year-old former Australian captain left Optus Stadium early in the afternoon after telling his commentary colleagues that he was feeling unwell, but has spoken out saying he feels great and is “all shiny and new this morning.”
“I probably scared a lot of people yesterday and had a scary moment myself,” Ponting said on Saturday.
“I was sitting in the comms box halfway through a stint and got a couple of really short chest pains to my chest. I tried to stretch it out and get rid of it, and probably didn’t want o give too much away when I was on air.
“I had a couple of those incidents, got through the stint and went to walk to the back of the commentary box and got lightheaded and dizzy and grabbed the bench.”
His colleagues Justin Langer and Chris Jones reacted quickly when they realised something was wrong.
“I mention to JL on the way out, who was commentating with me, that I had these pains in my chest and Chris Jones heard me and just reacted straight away and got me out of there. Ten or 15 minutes later, I was in the hospital getting the best treatment that I could.”
Ponting’s scare follows a tumultuous year for Australian cricket, which has been rocked by a series of tragedies.
Rod Marsh died in February at the age of 74 after suffering a massive heart attack.
Shane Warne died from a suspected heart attack while on holiday in Thailand in March, while Andrew Symonds was killed in a car crash in May.
Former Australian cricketer Ryan Campbell was given just a seven per cent chance of surviving after being placed in an induced coma for seven days following a cardiac arrest in April.
Campbell survived that ordeal, and he led the Netherlands to a famous victory over South Africa at the recent T20 World Cup.
Ponting has used this scare to encourage others to speak out when something feels wrong.
“I think the bottom line is, the fact that I was willing to share it with JL and the fact that your mate looks after you, I think people of our age, we are a little reluctant to share much or talk about our health, and I think that is a good learning curve for me yesterday, especially what has happened the last 12-18 months to really close people around us.
“My little mate looked after me and got me down there and I’m back, shiny and new this morning.”
Ponting is one of the greatest players in cricket history, with the Tasmanian scoring 13,378 runs in his 168 Tests and winning three World Cups, including the 2003 and 2007 tournaments as captain. He represented Australia in 375 one-day internationals.
He and his wife Rianna have three children, a son Fletcher, and daughters Emmy and Matisse.
Test captain Pat Cummins has wished Ponting a speedy recovery. “I wish Ricky the best,” Cummins said after play on day three.
“We were just chatting to him this morning out on the field. By all reports it sounds like he’s going ok. Anything like that is super scary, so we wish him the best.”
Build your own fantasy cricket team and put it to the test with Draftstars daily fantasy competitions. Pick your match, pick your team and watch the points roll in to take out cash prizes on each match. What are you really gambling with? Set a deposit limit.