Canberra, Jan 29 (IANS): In a touching gesture, former woman cricketer Mel Jones on Saturday gifted a brand new bat to kids, who were playing with a plastic water bottle in stands during the rain-hit Day 3 of Women's Ashes between Australia and England and won the hearts of the cricket fans all across the world.
Jones, the cricketer-turned-commentator, was busy commentating on the Women's Ashes Test until rain stopped play at the stroke of lunch.
As rain caused a delay in the match, the few kids present at the stands tried to make the most of the time by playing the sport by themselves. They had a tennis ball with them but they didn't have a bat with them. However, they decided to make use of a plastic water bottle as a bat.
The children relished the moment bit by bit by trying to smack the tennis ball with the help of the bottle. The children got along with the flow and enjoyed playing in the rain.
The visuals soon caught everyone's attention including that of former Australian cricketer Mel Jones who walked up to the girls and gifted them a brand new Kookaburra bat. Later, she along with her fellow commentators also joined the girls in the match. Jones was seen bowling and umpiring in this game at the stands.
The sweet incident was later shared by Fox Cricket on Twitter. "What a beautiful moment Mel Jones gifting a brand new Kookaburra bat to these kids using a bottle during the rain delay," read the caption shared along with the video.
The video clip has spread like wildfire across social media channels. Overall, it turned out to be one of the best moments for the kids as Jones made their day and also won the hearts of the cricket fans.
Talking about the game, England captain Heather Knight and senior pacer Katherine Brunt led England's fightback before rain forced early stumps on day three of the women's Ashes Test at the Manuka Oval on Saturday.
At stumps, after Australia bowled out England for 297 with Heather remaining unbeaten at a career-best 168, Katherine took two early wickets to reduce Australia to 12/2 in 4.5 overs.