Ricky Ponting was not just into amassing hundreds in his heydays as a player, the two-time World Cup winning former Australia captain has revealed that he also meticulously collected every bat with which he scored an international ton, complete with the exact score and the name of opposition written on it by him.
The 49-year-old Ponting, who is currently the head coach of Delhi Capitals, was one of the most feared big-hitters of his era and was speaking at the DP World's Beyond Boundaries initiative of handing out kits to young players in Delhi.
Ponting scored 71 international hundreds, a staggering 41 of them in Tests, during his illustrious playing career that drew to a close in 2012.
"Believe it or not, I have still got my first bat at my home. It still has all the stickers and everything on it. We literally have had probably a thousand of bats by now, some are more special than others.
"I kept every bat I scored an international hundred with and I write on it, the score and who it was against," the usually reticent Ponting revealed.
One of his most memorable knocks was the World Cup-winning unbeaten 140 against India in the 2003 edition's final. He pulverised the Indian bowling attack led by Zaheer Khan to almost single-handedly clinch the trophy for Australia.
Does that bat feature in his collection too?
"Yes it does," pat came Ponting's reply even as the then India captain Sourav Ganguly, who is currently the Delhi Capitals Director and was sharing the dias with the Australian in New Delhi, looked on with a smile on his face.
But this memorabilia is hidden away at his home and is not meant to be showed to anyone.
"It's not like it's displayed in my house. I keep those in my garage," he added.
Ganguly also spoke at the event and recalled the time he got his first bat.
"I remember I had my first bat when I was 13 and how happy I was because the ball would just fly off the bat," the former BCCI President said.
David Warner, who is playing for DC this season, said his first bat was a birthday present.
"My uncle got me my first bat for my birthday, and it never left my side and used to be next to my bed," he said.
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