Michael Vaughan reveals reason behind Ricky Ponting calling him 'rabbit' since Ashes 2005

Former England cricket captain Michael Vaughan has revealed an interesting story about getting an interesting nickname from his ex-Australian counterpart Ricky Ponting. Vaughan and Ponting went head-to-head as just players and once as the captains of their national sides as well, in the famous 2005 Ashes series in England. Michael Vaughan claimed that he was called ‘Rabbit’ by Ricky Ponting.

Cricketers are known for having unique nicknames. In most cases, the story behind how they got these nicknames is interesting as well. The same holds true for Vaughan as well.

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Michael Vaughan Was Nicknamed ‘Rabbit’ During The Legendary Ashes 2005 Series

The Ashes 2005 series is remembered for a variety of reasons. Many cricket lovers regard the Ashes 2005 edition as one of the best Ashes series of all time. England had not won the Ashes for 18 years when the Australian cricket team arrived for the Ashes 2005 edition. A pulsating 5 tests later which involved the closest of matches, the England test team won the Ashes 2005 series 2-1. The feat was achieved with captain Michael Vaughan at the helm. 

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It was during the fourth Test of the Ashes 2005 that Ponting gave him the nickname. With the Ashes 2005 series still tied at 1-1 and England going strong, Ricky Ponting decided to roll his arm over. Ricky Ponting was predominantly a batsman but had 4 Test wickets to his name at that time.

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However as it turned out, Ricky Ponting managed to do one over Michael Vaughan. Bowling medium pace to the set Michael Vaughan who was batting at 58, Ricky Ponting managed to get the outside edge of Michael Vaughan, dismissing him caught behind as wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist took the catch.

The incident led to Ricky Ponting calling Michael Vaughan a ‘Rabbit’ from there on with the latter confirming it on the Tuffers and Vaughan podcast recently. Answering a question on the podcast on whether Ricky Ponting ever reminded Michael Vaughan of the Ashes 2005 dismissal, he said “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.' Irrespective of the incident, Michael Vaughan had the last laugh. Andrew Flintoff’s century helped England register a famous 3-wicket win.

During the same series in the third Test at Manchester, Ponting was seen sledging Vaughan constantly the moment he arrived at the crease. Vaughan hit back at the Australian captain by telling him to 'shut up and field as he was no Steve Waugh'. Steve Waugh was Ricky Ponting's predecessor in the Australian team as its captain, being considered far better of the two by many cricket admirers.

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The reason why Ricky Ponting is called 'Punter'

While Ricky Ponting was responsible for giving a nickname to Michael Vaughan during Ashes 2005, he was given the famous nickname of ‘Punter.’ Revealing the story on Twitter, he said that the nickname was given to him by Shane Warne during their time at the Australian national cricket academy in 1991 as Ricky Ponting used to put bets on dog races. Ricky Ponting claimed they used to be paid AUD $40 a month, which he used to go to the TAB to have a bet on the dogs. As a result, Shane Warne gave Ponting the nickname of 'Punter'

Image Courtesy: michaelvaughan.net