Cricket legend Ricky Ponting has opened up about the health scare which saw him rushed to hospital on Friday while commentating on the first Test between Australia and the West Indies in Perth.
Ponting left the ground at lunch after suffering chest pains, lightheadedness and dizziness. The 47-year-old was on commentary at the time and thanked his close friend and former teammate Justin Langer and Channel 7's executive producer Chris Jones for urging him to go to the hospital.
After returning to the commentary box a day later, Ponting recalled the "scary moment" and said he now feels "all shiny and new". He said: "I probably scared a lot of people yesterday and had a scary moment for myself.
"I was sitting in the comms box halfway through the stint and got a couple of really short and sharp pains through 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.
"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 heard me and they just reacted straight away and got me out of there.
"Ten or 15 minutes later, I was in the hospital getting the best treatment that I possibly could. I feel great this morning, I am all shiny and new this morning."
Ponting also said the incident was a "good learning curve", with fellow Australian legends Rod Marsh and Shane Warne both passing away earlier this year after suffering heart attacks and Ponting's former teammate Ryan Campbell recovering from a severe heart attack that left him in intensive care.
"I think the bottom line is, the fact that I was willing to share it with JL and the fact that your mate looks after you, I think as people of our age, we are a little reluctant to share much or talk about our health and I think that is a good learning curve for me yesterday, especially with what has happened in the last 12-18 months to really close people around us," Ponting continued. "My little mate looked after me and got me down there and I'm back, shiny and new this morning."
Langer also said he hoped the incident would be a "great lesson for everyone", adding: "If Ricky Ponting comes to me and says something is not quite right, then you know something is not quite right.
"It's a great lesson for everyone that after our 12 months it has become very public with Rod Marsh, Shane Warne of course and Ryan Campbell. When someone says they have something going on, it's good to talk up and it's good to see the little fella not being the tough guy, not being the ice man, and reaching out."
