From good to bad for de Kock and Beard
Plays of the Day from the Lions v Otago Champions League T20 match in Jaipur
Mohammad Isam
29-Sep-2013
An Ethan O'Reilly beamer took Ian Butler (temporarily) down • BCCI
The fumble
Almost everything that Quinton de Kock did in this game went right, except for the final ball. With Neil Wagner swinging hard at Sohail Tanvir, the Lions wicketkeeper fumbled the ball and gave away the bye that tied the game. Tanvir was left disappointed, and so was de Kock, who knew that it only took one little mistake to undo a lot of good work. And undo it did, as de Kock's day got worse with the mix-up off the final ball in the Super Over.
Almost everything that Quinton de Kock did in this game went right, except for the final ball. With Neil Wagner swinging hard at Sohail Tanvir, the Lions wicketkeeper fumbled the ball and gave away the bye that tied the game. Tanvir was left disappointed, and so was de Kock, who knew that it only took one little mistake to undo a lot of good work. And undo it did, as de Kock's day got worse with the mix-up off the final ball in the Super Over.
The stinger
Lions pace bowler Ethan O'Reilly is a bustling character who was in the thick of things for most of the Otago innings. He sent down a stinker in the 17th of the innings, a beamer that hit Ian Butler flush on his elbow. Butler crumbled in pain, with O'Reilly apologising right away. The physio came in and made sure he continued the innings. De Kock too was banged on the elbow in the penultimate over of the Lions' innings. That time it was Neil Wagner's beamer that struck him, but he ran the single and didn't ask for the physio. He was nearing a second Twenty20 century, and probably didn't want a break in concentration.
Lions pace bowler Ethan O'Reilly is a bustling character who was in the thick of things for most of the Otago innings. He sent down a stinker in the 17th of the innings, a beamer that hit Ian Butler flush on his elbow. Butler crumbled in pain, with O'Reilly apologising right away. The physio came in and made sure he continued the innings. De Kock too was banged on the elbow in the penultimate over of the Lions' innings. That time it was Neil Wagner's beamer that struck him, but he ran the single and didn't ask for the physio. He was nearing a second Twenty20 century, and probably didn't want a break in concentration.
The misfortune
Nick Beard started the day quite well, picking up two wickets off consecutive balls in his first over. He missed the hat-trick, but bowled a tight second over. It didn't go too well for him thereafter, though, as he missed a catch of de Kock, helping the young opener to his half-century. Beard over-ran the ball at deep square-leg, had it go through his fingers and on to the boundary. It went further downhill for the left-arm spinner thereafter, as he gave away 16 in his next over and was not asked to finish his quota.
Nick Beard started the day quite well, picking up two wickets off consecutive balls in his first over. He missed the hat-trick, but bowled a tight second over. It didn't go too well for him thereafter, though, as he missed a catch of de Kock, helping the young opener to his half-century. Beard over-ran the ball at deep square-leg, had it go through his fingers and on to the boundary. It went further downhill for the left-arm spinner thereafter, as he gave away 16 in his next over and was not asked to finish his quota.
The scud
Quinton de Kock's stinging straight drive off Neil Wagner in the 19th over belied his physique. It was a power-packed shot which rushed past the bowler, the non-striker and the umpire, and struck the boundary board in a blink. He looks physically unthreatening for an opening batsman of this era but, today, several of his pull shots off the fast bowlers and against anything that was full from the spinners were as good as any from well-built batsmen.
Quinton de Kock's stinging straight drive off Neil Wagner in the 19th over belied his physique. It was a power-packed shot which rushed past the bowler, the non-striker and the umpire, and struck the boundary board in a blink. He looks physically unthreatening for an opening batsman of this era but, today, several of his pull shots off the fast bowlers and against anything that was full from the spinners were as good as any from well-built batsmen.
Mohammad Isam is ESPNcricinfo's Bangladesh correspondent. He tweets here