Taunting is not upsetting Ponting
On the eve of the fourth npower Test at Headingley, where an England victory would see the hosts regain the Ashes, Ponting confirmed he was involved in a heated exchange with a fan at Edgbaston last weekend.
Ponting, 34, has been the target of English supporters’ boos most of the summer, and Yorkshire chief executive Stewart Regan has pledged to prevent spectators getting close to the players in Leeds.
Confirming last Sunday’s incident in Birmingham, Ponting recalled: “There were some words exchanged.
“The spectator was actually leaning over the front of the grandstand and gave me a bit of a gob-full when I got out.
“As it turned out, he was later thrown out of the ground – so it would appear he was probably in the wrong.”
“It’s been pretty well-documented over the last few weeks that I’ve probably copped a little bit from the crowd. But it certainly wasn’t a big deal at all, just a few words he directed at me.
“It’s part and parcel of what we do. It happens everywhere around the world, and it’s no bigger deal here in this series than what it has been in others I’ve played.”
England captain Andrew Strauss agrees the issue should not be made out to be bigger than it is – but he has admitted too to feeling a little sorry for his opposite number.
“I do empathise with him a little bit,” Strauss said.
“Booing him in those circumstances is probably a little over the mark, but our supporters are generally fantastic.
Meanwhile Strauss has warned that talismanic all-rounder Andrew Flintoff will not play in the fourth npower Test at Headingley on “sentimental grounds”.
Flintoff bowled for 35 minutes in the nets yesterday to test out his troublesome right knee, which has become something of a pin cushion since he announced this Ashes series was his final hurrah in Test cricket.
The reaction of the joint, iced intensively since the drawn third match concluded on Monday evening, will be discussed by Flintoff and the England medical staff before a decision on selection is made.
That is not likely to take place until this morning but Strauss has insisted he is prepared to make the toughest of decisions if he is not convinced Flintoff, 31, can get through a five-day match.
“When you’re captain of the team you’re motivated by what’s right for the team,” said Strauss.
“Obviously if Fred plays and has a detrimental effect on the team, it would be wrong for us to have made that decision on sentimental grounds and I think Fred would appreciate that himself.
“The last thing he wants to happen is to play and then not be able to fulfil a role in the game.
England (from): AJ Strauss (captain), AN Cook, RS Bopara, IJL Trott, IR Bell, PD Collingwood, MJ Prior (wkt), A Flintoff, SCJ Broad, GP Swann, JM Anderson, G Onions, SJ Harmison, RJ Sidebottom.
Australia (from): RT Ponting (captain), PJ Hughes, SM Katich, MJ Clarke, MEK Hussey, MJ North, BJ Haddin (wkt), SR Watson, AB McDonald, MG Johnson, PM Siddle, SR Clark, NM Hauritz, BW Hilfenhaus, G Manou (wkt), B Lee.
Umpires: BF Bowden (Nzl) & Asad Rauf (Pak)
Third umpire: IJ Gould
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
