When Webber met Ponting (in middle England)
It's not easy getting globetrotting Australian sport stars Mark Webber and Ricky Ponting in the same place - but The Mole emerged to find them both basking in the Worcestershiresunshine on Monday.
Australia cricket captain Ponting was guiding his squad through a mid-morning training session ahead of this week's Ashes warm-up match against the England Lions at New Road.
And, with 11 days to go before the Formula 1 circus arrives at Germany's Nurburgring, Red Bull driver Webber took the chance to catch up with his old mates Ponting and Brad Haddin.
Webber is pretty handy with a tennis racquet and on a bike and also played cricket as a youngster, growing up in Queanbeyan with Aussie wicket-keeper Haddin.
But actually joining in the slip fielding practice or nets session was not on the agenda for the racing driver - when Ponting threw a pair of pads at him, he threw them right back with a laugh.
"Australian cricketers are heroes in our country," said Webber, who first gained access to the inner sanctum of the Baggy Green dressing room because of his friendship with former captain Steve Waugh.
"I've been to three Ashes Series' in England and this should be another ferocious tour. Hopefully Australia can have a good result against England."
As for the Australians, they were happy to chat to Webber about, well, anything other than cricket really.
Ponting and his vice-captain Michael Clarke wanted to hear more about the British Grand Prix, where Webber finished second behind Sebastian Vettel in a Red Bull one-two.
They also wanted the inside track on why Ferrari and McLaren were doing so badly in 2009.
"We keep a close eye on Australians in other sports, so to see Mark do so well at Silverstone was great," said Ponting, who outed Mitchell Johnson, Clarke and Nathan Bracken as the petrol-heads in his team.
"I told Mitchell I was going for a drive with Mark Webber this afternoon and he just said 'What?!'"
But with just nine days until England and Australia commence battle in the first Test in Cardiff, the banter eventually drifted back to the A-word.
Ponting revealed that in recent team meetings, two members of his squad have taken turns to give a presentation on their Ashes memories.
"It made me feel a bit old as some of the younger guys were talking about matches I played in," joked Ponting.
But the talks will have played a part in bonding and buoying team spirits ahead of the historic fight for the urn.
"The Ashes means a lot in terms of what we as Australians stand for as a nation," explained Webber as a cricket fan. "It's a big expectation."
"Yeah there's a big expectation," agreed Ponting. "But no-one in the world has more pride than this group of Australian players.
"And we're not taking our opportunities for granted."
That's a sentiment Webber - who lies fourth in the race for the F1 drivers' crown - probably shared with his old mate Ponting as the Australian sporting giants retreated into the pavilion for lunch before re-focusing on serious sporting matters ahead.
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