Australia legend Ricky Ponting had a health scare as he was rushed to the nearby hospital even as he was commentating during the first Test match between Australia and West Indies at the Optus Stadium Perth. The World Cup winner felt pain in his chest after which he took a walk. He then came back and realized that the pain hasn’t gone away. Thereafter, he told about his discomfort to his ex-teammate Justin Langer.
He was soon rushed to the nearby hospital. As of now, he is back in the commentary box and told the viewers all about what had happened in a video chat with Fox Cricket.
“I was sitting in the comms box halfway through the stint and got a couple of really short and sharp pains to my chest. I tried to stretch it out and get rid of it, and probably didn’t want to give too much away when I was on air,” he tol Fox Cricket.
“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. I mentioned to JL on the way out, who was commentating with me, that I had had these pains in my chest and Chris Jones (executive producer) heard me and just reacted straight away and got me out of there. 10 or 15 minutes later, I was in the hospital getting the best treatment that I possibly could.
Meanwhile the role of former Aussie coach Justin Langer can’t be undermined as he was the one who had taken the initiative alongside Jones to rush Ponting to the nearby hospital.
“I knew if Ricky Ponting comes to me and says something is not quite right, well, you know something is not quite right. I think it is a great lesson for everyone. That after our 12 months, it has become very published, with Rod Marsh and Shane Warne, of course, Ryan Campbell, when someone says they’ve got something going on, then talk up.”
Also Read: BCCI Set To Introduce ‘Impact Players’ Which Might Be a Game Changer In IPL 2023
“And it was good to see the little fella not being the tough guy, not being the Ice Man, and reaching out to his friends. And as Ricky said, we got some great care for him yesterday afternoon.”
Australian cricket has gone through a horror year with greats Shane Warne and Rod Marsh both dying unexpectedly, while Andrew Symonds was killed in a car crash.
Get the latest Cricket News, Schedule and Cricket Live Scores here