One of the most renowned batters in cricket history is undoubtedly Ricky Ponting. And it is demonstrated by the 27483 runs he has scored over his international career. The rumour that he used a spring in his bat during his spectacular knock in the 2003 World Cup final is another notable memory of him. But the former batter’s perceptive eyes, not the spring or his bat, were what improved him.
In a recent interview, the seasoned batter disclosed that Australian cricket players once wore eyeglasses that could detect even the smallest movement of their eyes when they were facing a delivery.
And the findings showed that Ponting was always only able to see the leather ball’s bottom five percent circumference.
“When you were watching the ball, we had these glasses that detected even the smallest movement of your eyes. The main issue I had was that I just looked at the bottom five percent of the ball. Ponting stated on the Straight Talk podcast with Mark Bouris, “I focused on the bottom 5% when the ball was coming down the wicket, which was different from what everyone else did.”
The Tasmanian is still regarded as one of the best cricket ball pullers. It wouldn’t be incorrect to state that his pull shot is incredibly visually appealing and straight out of the textbook. Ponting attributes his ability to pull to his ability to observe the portion of the ball striking the wicket before it bounced off, which allowed him to draw deliveries that were comparatively longer.
Pull shots to balls that were fuller than the others were something I could play. And after giving it some thought, I realised that perhaps it was because I was focussing on the portion of the ball that was actually striking the wicket. It will take longer to determine where the ball is landing on the wicket if you are gazing at the top of the ball,” he clarified.
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