Ashes 2023: Ricky Ponting Fumes in Anger After England Fans Throw Grapes at Australia Legend | WATCH

Ricky Ponting encountered a rare scene when the former Australian captain was sharing his analytical views after Day 1 of the fifth Ashes Test was wrapped up at the Oval.

Ponting was doing live commentary on Sky Sports when some English fans pelted grapes at him, according to a report by the Sun. The gesture by the home supporters didn’t go down well with Ponting, who was evidently left fuming.

The cricketer-turned-commentator was standing in front of the broadcaster’s set at the edge of the field. That’s when a few fruity missiles were launched from the stands and directly landed in front of Ponting’s feet.

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Ian Ward, who was the host of that segment, tried to take the matter lightly. But Rocky Ponting found nothing funny about the incident. He denied to let it lie while giving a cold stare at the English crowd. The World Cup-winning skipper also vowed to find out the culprits behind the grape attack.

“I have just been hit by grapes. I wouldn’t mind finding out who were those actually,” Ponting said on camera.

Before the fifth Test kicked off on July 27, Ricky Ponting lashed out at English batter Joe Root, who voiced about changing some laws of Test cricket after the fourth game in Manchester washed out due to rain. England looked promising to level the series, which now stays 2-1 in Australia’s favour. But heavy showers didn’t let that happen, with the match ending in a draw.

According to Root, the match could be stretched a bit as in England, “it doesn’t get dark until 10pm in summer.” Ponting addressed Root’s demand on The ICC Review podcast and shelled out a blunt reply, saying, “You just can’t change the laws of the game whenever you want to.”

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Australia pulled off a dominant start to the fifth Ashes Test at the Oval, where they beat India in the World Test Championship (WTC) final last month. Batting first, England faced a massive collapse in batting, with only six batters managing a two-digit score.

Riding on an innings-reviving 85-run knock from Harry Brook, the hosts could post 283 runs in the first innings. Coming in to bat, Australia lost David Warner early, who returned to the pavilion after scoring 24 runs. At stumps, Australia reached 61 runs, with Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne unbeaten at the crease.