New Delhi: In the ongoing Bushfire cricket bash at the Junction Oval, former Australia skipper Ricky Ponting showed that he has still got that competitive spirit in him.
The incident happened when Ponting came out to bat and faced his first ball in the match. Gilchrist XI’s pacer Courtney Walsh was not able to control the ball, and he ended up bowling a beamer, going past both the batsman and keeper.
Ponting, however, ran behind to hit the ball and seemingly asked Gilchrist to throw the ball at him, leaving all fans and commentators in splits.
ICC posted the video of the incident and captioned the post as: “Commentators: “It’s not a competitive game Ricky,– Ponting: “It is when I’m playing, He’s still got it #BigAppeal”
In the match, Gilchrist XI won the bat flip and opted to bowl first.
Bushfire Bash was originally slated to be played at Sydney today but weather forecast prompted Cricket Australia to reschedule the game to ensure the best possible pitch and outfield conditions for the final of the Big Bash League.
The match is being played to raise funds and all match profits will go to the Australian Red Cross Disaster Relief and Recovery Fund. It will be played between Ponting XI and Gilchrist XI.
Ponting XI: Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer, Ricky Ponting (c), Elyse Villani, Brian Lara, Phoebe Litchfield, Brad Haddin (wk), Brett Lee, Wasim Akram, Dan Christian, Luke Hodge. Coach: Sachin Tendulkar
Gilchrist XI: Adam Gilchrist (c & wk), Shane Watson, Brad Hodge, Yuvraj Singh, Alex Blackwell, Andrew Symonds, Courtney Walsh, Nick Riewoldt, Peter Siddle, Fawad Ahmed (one more to be announced). Coach: Tim Paine.
The Bushfire Bash exhibition match will be a 10-overs-per-side contest, with a five-over Powerplay, no bowling restrictions, and batters unable to get out from the first ball they face.
Bowlers will not have over limits, fielders can sub on and off as it suits, while captains will have the ability to sub batters in and out during an innings.