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Gary Pratt
31
angrily back to him. As Hoggy reached us
he told us that Ponting was really kicking
off about it.The funny thing was that it later
transpired that Duncan Fletcher hadn’t
been aware of any of it anyway, as he’d gone
to the bathroom at the fall of the wicket.”
As Gary points out, Ponting’s anger was
directed towards the wrong person really.
“It was a crazy run, there was never a run
there. They’ve gone on about me but the
person to blame was Damien Martyn, he
sold Ricky down the river.”
England completed their victory the
following day but Gary wasn’t around to
witness it.
“I was told that Durham wanted me back
to play for them in a one-day match the
following day. I was told to get back quickly
and not speak to any of the press about what
had happened.
“I returned but then they didn’t even select
me. I think the decision to call me back may
have been down to Mike Hussey, Durham’s
Australian captain.
“That was almost the demise of my county
career as well, although I still felt I had a lot
to give. I was one of the best performers for
the county in one-day cricket but didn’t play
much after then and was eventually released.
“They said they wanted to give some of the
younger lads a chance, which was a pretty
poor excuse really.”
Although Gary wasn’t around to witness the
last knockings of the match in Nottingham,
he hadn’t quite finished with the 2005
Ashes series.
“They called me back to be twelfth man
at The Oval, perhaps just inflaming the
situation a little bit more. Anyway, I was
there at the end as the series was finally won.
“Afterwards I remember the two sides getting
together for a beer in the dressing rooms
and the camaraderie was very good between
them. I remember feeling very privileged
that I was in the company of some very good
cricketers, like ShaneWarne and co.
“At one point I was in theAustralian dressing
room and completely coincidentally I’d sat
down in Ponting’s chair. He came over and
asked how I was doing and very nicely said
there were a couple of pairs of boots there
for me if I wanted them.
“Then, completely to my surprise, he
presented me a signed photo of the run out.
One of the press had given him it and he’d
got all of the team to sign it for me - it was a
really nice gesture.”
Now a successful businessman, Gary still
plays play club cricket in the north east
for Richmondshire CC and last season
skippered Cumberland to the minor
counties one-day title.