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When Ponting Gave His Gloves To Young Mitchell Owen Who Later Won Hobart Their 1st BBL Title

Jatin

Mitchell Owen [Source: @Ngamshing1/x.com]Mitchell Owen [Source: @Ngamshing1/x.com]

There are cricket stories and then there are cricket fairytales but this one is what dreams are made of. Before Mitchell Owen blazed his name into Big Bash legend with a title-winning hundred, before he became a T20 gun-for-hire across the world, he was just a chubby kid on the grassy hill at Bellerive Oval cheering for his beloved Hobart Hurricanes.

And one night, years before he wore the Hurricanes jersey himself, that wide-eyed fan got something that would stay etched in memory forever: a pair of batting gloves gifted by none other than Ricky Ponting.

A Fanboy Moment That Aged Like Fine Wine

Rewind to a night under the lights at Bellerive. A teenage Mitch Owen had just watched the Hurricanes in action, soaking in every moment like any die-hard fan would. And as the crowd started to thin, he did what most cricket-crazy kids do, hung around the boundary ropes, waiting for autographs and maybe a memento or two.

That is when it happened.

“Another game… Ricky Ponting actually gave me his gloves, which has also a photo. So we’ll try and find that. I was one of those little kids asking for everything and getting all the signatures after the game,” Owen recalled in a BBL video.

That small gesture, a pair of gloves from one of the greatest cricketers ever, was the spark. It was the moment the dream took flight.

Full Circle At Bellerive

Coming to 2025 in the same stadium and in front of the same crowd, it was Mitchell Owen in the middle and not cheering from the hill.

Chasing 183 against Sydney Thunder in the Big Bash League 2024-25 final, Owen smashed 108 off just 42 balls, a knock for the ages. He led Hurricanes to their first-ever BBL title, turning a stadium he once dreamt on playing in into the stage of his greatest win.

“Yeah, that’s me. A little chubby fan sitting on the hill... Got heaps of great memories of watching the Hurricanes. Honestly don’t think I missed a home game,” he said, looking back.

From selfies with Xavier Doherty to game-day souvenirs from Ponting, Owen had lived every fan’s fantasy and then some.

Ponting’s Belief Goes Beyond Gloves

Today, that young kid is rubbing shoulders with legends in leagues across the globe (SA20, PSL, IPL, MLC) and still has Ponting in his corner. The same man who once gave him gloves now mentors him closely as head coach at Washington Freedom and Punjab Kings and as head of strategy at Hurricanes.

It’s rare to have your childhood hero walk alongside you through the highs and lows of your professional career. For Owen, it’s a reality. And it all began with those gloves, gifted not just in passing but as a symbolic passing of the torch.

And now on his T20I debut against West Indies, Owen came in to bat at No. 6 and smashed 50 off just 27 balls with six sixes to lead Australia to a three-wicket win while chasing a 190-run target.