In Queensland when the visitors were struggling at 5/132, Ponting set the scene on Channel 7 for how Nathan Lyon could pick up the wicket of Marco Jansen.
Ricky Ponting delivers special gift to David Warner after Boxing Day heroics. Credit: 7NEWS
Ponting discussed a build-up of pressure that had been placed on Jansen and how the trap had been set at “mid-on three-quarters of the way back”.
“They are tempting him with a build-up of pressure to try and hit over the top,” Ponting said ... and sure enough, with the very next ball,Jansen did exactly as predicted and skied a shotthat was well caught by Cam Green.
Fellow Channel 7 commentator Tim Lane was quick to praise Ponting for the great call. “Well done, Ricky. Exactly as foretold. Lyon takes the wicket.”
But as brilliant as that was, it pales in comparison to Ponting’s latest Nostradamus-act on Day 2 of the second Test at the MCG.
Warner, in his 100th Test had been under enormous pressure for a whole range of reasons, and certainly a lack of a recent big score was one of them.
He dug in on Day 1 to be 33 not out, but not even then nobody would have been bold enough to predict what was about to unfold.
Not unless you are, of course, Ricky Ponting who has a reputation for making wildly accurate calls before they happen.
In previewing Day 2 on Channel 7, commentators James Brayshaw, Damien Flemming and Ponting soon turned their discussion to Warner.
Not only did Ponting say, ‘Yes,’ he went one step further. “And if he gets it, he might make 200. There you go,” Ponting said.
And sure enough, some hours later in scorching heat and with a thick edge, Warner became just the second player in history to score a double century in his 100th Test - and his third Test 200 for Australia.
David Warner hits the deck after making 200 in scorching conditions at the MCG. Credit: Cricket Australia via Getty Images
David Warner limps from the field after celebrating his double century at the MCG. Credit: Cricket Australia via Getty Images
But upon celebrating the amazing achievement, he cramped so severely that his stunning innings came to an abrupt end and he limped from the field, retired hurt.
Prior to the game there was some pressure on Warner to retire, but Lane was quick to note that rumours of Warner’s cricket death had been “greatly exaggerated”.
Ponting said: “Awesome. I actually feel really glad that I am here to witness this.
“A guy coming into the game under a little pressure and not having made the runs he would have liked to have made. His 100th Test match and he’s played the way we all hoped he would. He’s played the way that all of Australia hoped he would.”
And while he may have played the way people hoped, it was only Ponting who predicted a whopping 200 ahead of the day’s play.
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