 "It’s all in the brain – Firstpost")
Ricky Ponting has revealed he was left feeling ‘worried’ about whether Australian cricket legend Shane Warne would be ‘able to play’ on the eve of the 2005 Ashes series.
It came after Warne had undergone a highly publicised divorce from his ex-wife Simone Callahan in the build-up to the Test series.
Warne, who tragically passed away in 2022 at the age of 52, had previously described that period of his life as ‘really tough’.
‘Getting divorced was a difficult time in my life and for my children. And it was my fault. So I have to live with that for the rest of my life, it wasn’t easy,’ he said while commentating for Foxtel on the Ashes series in 2022.
‘I had to then pick myself off the canvas and try to start an Ashes series, which wasn’t easy,’ he added in an interview with talkSPORT.
Warne and Callahan had been married for 10 years before they divorced.
Ricky Ponting has revealed he was ‘worried’ about Australian spinning great Shane Warne ahead of the 2005 Ashes Series
It came after Warne (left) had undergone a highly-publicised divorce from his ex-wife Simone Callahan
Ponting (left) revealed that he had met Warne (right) for breakfast, where he asked whether the spinner was going to be ready and able to play in the series
‘I wasn’t going to pull out of an Ashes series. The kids wanted me to play, so I did. But that was a really tough time.’
His captain, Ponting, had noted that his star bowler wasn’t himself and so the Aussie Test skipper reached out to check in on his team-mate.
‘I was worried,’ he told The Courier Mail. ‘Photos had come out in the papers about his private life and I know for a fact his marriage was pretty much over.
‘I rang him and said: “I need to have breakfast with you and chat about some stuff”.
‘I went down and started some spiel: “How you going to be? Are you all right to play?”
‘And he cut me off and said: “What are you talking about? Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. I’ll sort that stuff out. When it’s time to go and play, I’ll go play”.
‘And he did. He took 40 wickets,’ Ponting added.
‘He was born to be on the big stage. That summed up what he was like as a competitor.’
Warne (right) told Ponting (left) that he was ready to play, before going on to take 40 wickets in the series
Ponting later described Warne as a true competitor adding that he was ‘born to be on the big stage’
Warne insisted he was ready to go, despite later claiming that the period following his divorce ‘was one of the toughest periods of his life’
While Australia would go on to lose the Ashes 2-1, Warne was named joint player of the series alongside Andrew Flintoff.
He took six wickets during Australia’s victory at Lord’s in the first Test, notably dismissing Ian Bell with a slider. In the second Test at Edgbaston, Warne would claim another 10 wickets, famously also sending Alastair Cook walking with a delivery that spun half-way across the pitch.
His 40-wicket haul puts him fifth for the most wickets taken in a single Ashes series by one player.
And such was his brilliance, former England captain Michael Vaughan hailed the late Aussie cricket star.
‘We love him,’ Vaughan said.
‘He murdered us for pretty much every Ashes series – and even in 2005, he got 40 wickets.
‘Without Warnie in 2005, we would have won 4-1 convincingly.’
Despite suffering defeat in the Test series, Warne dubbed it the greatest Ashes of all time.
Warne took six wickets at Lord’s before going on to take another 10 wickets during the second Test at Edgbaston
Warne (right) was named the player of the series alongside Andrew Flintoff (left) for his brilliance with the ball in hand
‘It was the only Ashes I played in that we lost and it was probably one of the greatest series of all time,’ the Australian cricket icon told talkSPORT.
‘I did pretty well with the bat and ball. I was pretty proud of my own achievement given the personal hardship and tough personal situation I was in.’
Ponting also reflected on the 2005 series, claiming that it was the ‘most captivating series’ that he played in.
‘The thing that struck me most was that through those couple of months there was no talk of football, it was cricket everywhere,’ Ponting told The Courier Mail.
‘It revitalised Ashes cricket and had a great impact on the Test match game around the world.’
