As absurd as it could sound, however for those who're a 90s child following Indian cricket, the time period 'spring bat' might ring a bell. On March 24, 2003, when Ricky Ponting bludgeoned India with an unbeaten 140 within the remaining of the World Cup, the rumor that the previous Australia captain performed that recreation with a spring in his bat reached each Indian cricketing family.
Sporting the great previous Kookaburra bat with the inexperienced sticker, Ponting's Australia smashed Sourav Ganguly's daredevils by 125 runs to win their third World Cup, breaking 1,000,000 Indian hearts. However whereas they lifted the World Cup, the weird 'spring bat' principle grew to become synonymous with Ponting each time he performed in opposition to or in India.
After 21 lengthy years, the previous Australia captain, now the top coach of the Delhi Capitals IPL franchise, has opened up on the raging 'spring-bat'. Whether or not he used it, didn't use it, Ponting has set the file straight on the subject as soon as and for all.
“Spring bat? I've by no means even heard of a spring bat. What’s a spring bat? Is it within the deal with? Is it contained in the face of the bat? I've by no means even heard of it. Clearly been spoken about loads right here in India, not in Australia. It’s best to all go and do your homework,” Ponting stated on Delhi Capitals TV throughout a enjoyable interview.
So there you have got it. No spring in his bat in spite of everything. 4 years in the past, because the world began to battle the Covid-19 pandemic, Ponting, in March of 2020, introduced world cricket, and particularly Indian cricket followers face-to-face, together with his instrument of destruction from Johannesburg all these years in the past, when he posted an image of the bat he used to toy with India.
“Given we've all bought a little bit of time on our palms as we keep at residence, thought I'd undergo what I've saved from my profession and share a few of it with everybody frequently – that is the bat I used within the 2003 World Cup remaining,” he had posted on X (previously Twitter).
Nonetheless, again within the early 2000s, two years faraway from the World Cup remaining, when Ponting was a part of the legendary 2005 Ashes collection in opposition to England, it was revealed that Ponting performed with a layer of graphite on the sticker in the back of his bat. . The matter was raised to the MCC, and as soon as Ponting's graphite-enforced bat was referred to as into query by the ICC, it was finally deemed to be unlawful.
Ponting's graphite sticker row
Controversy arose in April of 2005 regarding the legality of Ricky Ponting's Kookaburra bat, The Kahuna. The Marylebone Cricket Membership, answerable for the legal guidelines of cricket, was approached by the ICC to research. The problem centered on the bat's graphite coating, with the investigation aimed to find out if the coating complied with rules relating to the blade's composition and the utmost thickness of any overlaying supplies.
“I've been utilizing that bat for 5 – 6 years, it's simply the sticker that's modified this 12 months. I've simply had an actual snicker at it up to now, I've probably not thought an excessive amount of about it or the place it began From,” Ponting had stated.
Moreover, they examined whether or not the ball sustained injury past typical put on from willow contact. By the way, from December 2003 till the matter was reported, Ponting averaged 70.57 in Checks and 42.57 in ODIs.