Picture Credit: Twitter
England all-rounder Ben Stokes is one of the best fielders in world cricket currently. The 31-year-old always gives his 100% in the field and ensures minimum runs are conceded from the area of the ground he is fielding. Knowing about his athleticism, Stokes is a preferred man to protect the boundary ropes and he proved why with his acrobatic effort in England’s second T20I against Australia on Wednesday (12 October).
Stokes saved a certain six during the second T20 international between the two teams. Although many can argue that Stokes missed a catch (as he was standing a few yards inside), it was some effort from the player to save the ball that was flying over the ropes.
The incident took place in the 12th over of Australia’s innings. Sam Curran was the bowler while Mitchell Marsh was the batter. Curran bowled a full-length delivery which Marsh lofted straight down the ground. After seeing the ball going over the ropes, the fielder ran backwards and got a hold of it with his right hand. However, as the momentum was taking him over the boundary ropes, Stokes released the ball at the right moment to save a six.
Watch Stokes’ acrobatic effort here:
As Stokes could not complete the catch at that time, he came back three overs later to dismiss Marsh. He got the batter caught at the hands of Sam Curran to give a body blow to Australia as the batter was looking to set the tone of the chase. Eventually, it turned out to be a game changer as England defeated Australia in the second T20I as well.
The Jos Buttler-led team beat Australia by eight runs and took an unassailable lead of 2-0. Sam Curran successfully defended 22 runs off the last over to hand his team a victory.