Times have been tough for the Australian team this season, but RickyPonting’s men received a new measure on how bad things can be after seeingpeople at their “absolute lowest” in areas affected by the Victorianbushfires
Peter English12-Feb-2009
Ricky Ponting hugs and presents a bat to a bushfire victim © Getty Images
Times have been tough for the Australian team this season, but RickyPonting’s men received a new measure on how bad things can be after seeingpeople at their “absolute lowest” in areas affected by the Victorianbushfires. Almost 200 people have died in the blazes that destroyed entiretowns last weekend and Ponting said some of the players were concernedabout what they might see during the visit to Whittlesea, north ofMelbourne, on Wednesday.”I must admit it was fairly confronting for all of us,” Ponting said.”Once we got there, you could see we did make a small difference. We didlift a few spirits. A lot of the families and school teachers did come tous and say it’s the first time they have seen smiles on the kids’ facesfor quite a while.”We saw people at their absolute lowest, a whole community and a couple ofcommunities at their absolute lowest. We were talking to people who hadbeen back up the mountain for the first time and never wanted to go backagain. It’s a place a lot of people have lived for a lot of their livesand they don’t want to go and face what’s there.”Ponting said the Australian cricket community, which has helped raise morethan A$9.5 million through the Commonwealth Bank appeal, should be proudof their efforts. “It was a devastating thing for all the peopleinvolved,” he said. “We know it’s only a tiny difference, but it appearedfrom the outside that everybody we rubbed shoulders with really enjoyed usbeing up there.”The Australians were impressed by the community spirit shown by the firevictims and Ponting hoped they could draw on the experience. “Some of thestories we were hearing, people driving a caravan a couple of hours sopeople could sleep in it, that sort of stuff,” he said. “The sharing andselflessness that is up there at the moment is something to behold, seeinghow strong and how much spirit people have.”