Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting is known for having eyes of detail and he has used that quality to best effect while calling the game on air. He has been very successful in foreseeing the onset of dismissal or set of events while obviously dissecting correctly the takeaways of the game in a much insightful way than it appears for the wider public.
His attention to detail was at the forefront yet again as he could predict tactic England were trying to employ against Cameron Green as soon as the all-rounder walked out to bat. He has followed Green’s batting stance closely and predicted that England would bowl fuller and straighter to him because he stands with an open front foot in fear of getting trapped LBW.
He was making this assessment as Ben Stokes was running in to bowl the third delivery of his 16th over and on cue, he delivered a full ball that sneaked through the gap between bat and pad to bowl him.
Ponting achieved a similar feat at the start of the last Australian summer when India were playing the Day-Night Test against the home side and he could foresee Mithcell Starc’s plan of action against opener Prithvi Shaw. Then, he had predicted that Shaw was a candidate to get bowled through the gat as bat used to come from the gully angle creating a big gap between bat and pad and Starc delivered exactly the same result vindicating his assessment.