It was the final delivery of the 62nd over in England’s innings on day one. Roston Chase was the bowler, Ben Stokes the batter. The left-h...
It was the final delivery of the 62nd over in England’s innings on day one. Roston Chase was the bowler, Ben Stokes the batter. The left-hander was on 34 off 90 but he hadn’t scored a run off the last ten balls he had faced. So he decided to premeditate. He tweaked the position of his grip at the last second and began to take his front leg out of the way for a reverse sweep. But just as the ball started floating towards him, it became clear that it wasn’t an ideal delivery for a reverse sweep.
Now, the reverse sweep is a shot you have to commit to entirely. It has to be premeditated and there’s no coming back once you go for it. There’s no checking the shot once the grip changes. The first impression of that delivery was that Stokes was in trouble. It was like one of those moments when a batsman steps out too early and the bowler tosses it wide and you know what’s likely to follow.
The ball was heading in the right line for Stokes – it was to land on middle and off – but the issue for him was that it had too much flight...
