Ponting revisits one perfect day

Ricky Ponting has revealed the emotional conversation he had with teammate Damien Martyn in the build-up to the 2003 World Cup final that proved the catalyst for arguably the greatest partnership in the tournament's history.

Ponting, who led Australia unbeaten through the 2003 and 2007 World Cups – a feat unprecedented in the sport – made a stunning 140 not out in the '03 decider, sharing an unbroken third-wicket stand of 234 with Martyn as his side racked up 2-359 to effectively bat opponents India out of the contest.

And it was Martyn's unbeaten 88 from 84 deliveries, made with a broken finger, that the Tasmanian believes showed "the other side" of the cavalier middle-order batsman's character.

"He had a badly broken finger but I was desperate for him to play because he'd played right the way through, he was an experienced player, and ‘Marto’ was one of those guys who, when things got toughest, he was at his best," Ponting told The Howie Games podcast.

"If you think about some of the Test tours to India and Sri Lanka where conditions were hard, he found a way and got it done.

Quick Single: Solved! Hazlewood's 'missing finger' found

"Most people that looked at him and the way that he played, probably don't see that side of him. They see the other side of him – the arrogance and the swagger and the class with the way that he played.

"But they don't see the other side of him very often.

"I remember going to him a couple of days before the (final) and saying, 'Look, needle it (his finger) for me today, get through training, I'll watch you catch a few balls and hit a few balls, and then when you've finished, look me in the eye and tell me you can play, because I want you to play.

"The morning of the game I went to him and said, 'Look me in the eye and tell me you can play'.

"He looked at me and said, 'I can play'.

"He went out and played alright – he got 88 not out and it was a special moment in the career.

"It's nice to hear blokes like that say things, because men don't generally share things like that there and then, but those stories come out as the years roll on."

Quick Single: The story behind Sangakkara's axing

Ponting's innings in that final has entered cricket folklore.

Having paced his innings through to the drinks break with 15 overs remaining, he positively exploded thereafter, with his final 90 runs coming from 47 balls amid a flurry of massive sixes.

Better still, he forecast the impending carnage.

"It had taken me about 70 balls to get to 50," Ponting added. "And because the game was so under control and we were scoring quickly, I wanted to make sure I was there at the end.

"The 12th man came out and I said, 'Tell the boys to strap the seatbelts on, I'm gonna go flat-out from now and see what happens'.

"And I got most of them in the middle from there on in.

"As the captain, it was my turn to stand up and I walked off 140 not out, having shared (an Australian record) partnership with Damien Martyn at the time and posted 360 in a World Cup final. 

"You're walking off there and you're thinking, 'Well that's done, game over – we've stood up here'."