Michael Vaughan reveals why Ricky Ponting calls him a ‘rabbit’

Michael Vaughan, the former England skipper, has revealed the reasons behind Ricky Ponting calling him a ‘rabbit’. It started in the 2005 Ashes when Ponting, the then Australian skipper, managed to get rid of his opposite number. In the fourth Test at the Trent Bridge in Nottingham, Ponting found Vaughan’s outside edge when the latter was well set on 58 off 99 with nine fours.

It also happened to be Ponting’s final wicket at the highest level, though he rolled his arms over quite a few times. In his 560-match international career, Ponting churned out eight wickets. Ever since, Punter, as Ponting is popularly known, dismissed Vaughan, the former has been calling his counterpart a ‘rabbit’.   

Michael Vaughan makes the revelations

He put forth the story while speaking on the Tuffers and Vaughan podcast when asked about whether Ponting reminded him of the dismissal.. “When I went Down Under to do a bit of work in the winter, he’d just tend to walk past me in the corridor and call me ‘rabbit,’” Vaughan was quoted as saying during the chat.

As far as the Test match was concerned, England clinched victory by three wickets. Michael Vaughan got a fifty first time around, but bagged a duck in the second, getting out to Shane Warne. Ponting perished cheaply in the first innings as Simon Jones accounted for his wicket. In the second innings, he was batting on 48 before he was run out.

After both team’s first innings, the hosts managed to amass a lead of 259 runs. After being made to follow on, Ponting’s Australia scored 387 courtesy half-centuries from Justin Langer, Michael Clarke and Simon Katich, supported by handy knocks from Ponting, Brett Lee and Michael Kasprowicz.

Chasing 129 in the fourth innings, England found themselves in a bit of a hole as they were reduced to 116 for seven with 13 runs still needed. However, Ashley Giles and Matthew Hoggard kept their cool and guided the Three Lions over the finishing line.

With the victory, England also took an unassailable 2-1 lead in the five-match series. The final Test at the Kennington Oval was drawn and it meant that England won the series.