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While former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting survived a horrific heart scare while doing commentary on Day 3 of the first Test between Australia and West Indies, other retired Australian cricketers need not worry as fresh reports suggest that all of them will get free annual heart checks which will be afforded by the Australian Cricketers Association
The report published in The Morning Herald claimed that heart checks are expected to be included in the regular round of health assessments. Notably, the Australian Cricketers Association had previously encouraged players to get tested for skin cancer.
Several Australian cricketers including Dean Jones, Rod Marsh and Shane Warne have suffered cardiac-related deaths over the past 18 months, while Australian wicketkeeper Ryan Campbell survived a near death experience. Notably, world-cup-winning captain, Ricky Ponting complained of chest pain on Friday, and was rushed to a nearby hospital.
"I mentioned to Justin Langer on the way out, he was commentating with me, that I had these pains in my chest. I was sitting in the comms box halfway through the stint, and got a couple of really short, sharp pains through my chest. I tried to stretch it out and get rid of it and probably didn't give too much away when I was on air," Ponting told Channel 7.
However, the legendary skipper further claimed that he felt great 'this morning' and expressed gratitude towards Justin Langer and Chris Jones for hearing him out and suggesting the right thing.
"I’m all shiny and new. But I think the bottom line is the fact I was willing to share it ... as people of our age we’re probably a little bit reluctant to share much and talk much about our health especially, and that’s really a good learning curve for me yesterday, especially with what’s happened over the last 12 or 18 months with really close people around us," added Ponting.