Australian cricket royalty Ricky Ponting was left fuming after being hit by grapes while filming a television interview at The Oval.
Ponting – Australia’s all-time leading Test run-scorer with 13,378 – was working for Sky Sports during the fifth Ashes Test when the incident happened.
At the conclusion of day one in London, he was interviewing Aussie spin bowler Todd Murphy, who had taken two wickets to help roll England for 283.
READ MORE: Matildas coach under fire after great’s ‘regret’ claim
READ MORE: Aussies on top in Ashes finale despite catching woes
READ MORE: Matildas’ road out of World Cup group stage revealed
But while the broadcast rolled, Ponting was distracted from the interview and turned his attention to a section of the grandstand.
On closer inspection, grapes could be seen lying around his feet on the turf.
As the Murphy interview wrapped up, Sky Sports presenter Ian Ward pointed out to Ponting, “it looks like you’re being peppered with grapes”.
“I actually am, someone just hit me with a grape,” Ponting said.
“I wouldn’t mind finding out who it was, actually.”
The Aussie legend was visibly fuming and kept his attention on a section of the crowd.
“We’ll do that after we come off air,” Ward said.
Every ball of the Ashes will be live, free and exclusive on 9Now, and if you miss any of the action you can find full highlights and exclusive replays after every day’s play here
Ponting caused English fans plenty of grief during his career, amassing eight centuries at an average of 44.21 across 35 Ashes Tests.
He has also tormented the old enemy at times during this current series, despite being in the commentary box rather than on the pitch.
At Edgbaston earlier in the series, Ponting shut down old rival Kevin Pietersen in perfect fashion while the pair were analysing a session for Sky.
Pietersen was bizarrely lauding the innings of England batter Joe Root when Ponting put him in his place.
Highlights: Fifth Ashes Test, day one
“He owned the game,” Pietersen said of Root.
“He ran the game, he was pure quality and he just owned that space.
“All of this lot (pointing to Ponting) were just scratching their heads, going ‘what do we do?’.”
Ponting stared at Pietersen, looking bemused, before retorting, “well, he’s out now. He got 40”.
Ponting was also dragged into an awkward stoush following Ollie Robinson’s fiery send-off of Usman Khawaja in the first Test, when Robinson defended his actions by claiming, “We’ve all seen Ricky Ponting and other Aussies do the same to us”.
Ponting later retorted with, “If (Robinson) had used one of the current players as an example then fine, but I haven’t played for 11 years and probably haven’t sledged an Englishman for about 15. He must have a long memory”.
Aussie fans will relish seeing Punter going toe-to-toe with the English a decade after his retirement.
For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here!
Great Ashes moments since 1990: The centuries, wicket hauls, deliveries, catches and rescue missions that highlight cricket’s longest rivalry
For all the latest Sports News Click Here
For the latest news and updates, follow us on Google News.
