To understand greatness, you sometimes have to trace its roots - and that's exactly what senior sports journalist Vimal Kumar did.
In a story that’s as heartfelt as it is historic, Vimal travelled nearly 200 kilometers through Tasmania’s rugged heartland to knock on the most unassuming door - one that just happens to belong to Graeme and Lorraine Ponting, the proud parents of cricketing legend Ricky Ponting.
What followed was a rare, emotional, and deeply personal conversation with the very people who first saw the spark in a boy who'd go on to lead Australia through its golden era.
They reminisced about Ricky's earliest days with a bat—how even in primary school, teachers had to limit his runs because no one could get him out. By age 13, he was racking up hundreds in both U13 and U16 games... back-to-back.
But they also shared the unseen side: the quiet sacrifices, the moment he left home at 15 to train under Rod Marsh, and how his transformation from troubled prodigy to cricketing statesman wasn’t just about form - it was about growing up, meeting the right person (his wife), and staying grounded.
And even today, in Tasmania, Ricky isn’t a superstar. He’s just “Rick” at the local golf club.
This wasn’t just an interview. It was a journey into the soul of one of cricket’s greatest stories—through the eyes of the two people who knew him before the world did.
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