Watch: Ball of the Year – Pat Cummins delivers toe-crushing yorker to dismiss Ollie Pope in ENG vs AUS 1st test: Australian captain Pat Cummins on Monday, 19th June, set the tempo for his side once again after he uprooted Ollie Pope’s wicket with a toe-crushing yorker on day four of the ongoing ENG vs AUS 1st test. Cummins delivered the highly praised “Ball of the Year” against England’s promising batter Ollie Pope in Edgbaston.
The dismissal brought a sigh of relief to the Australian side, who desperately wanted a breakthrough on day four of the 1st test. England had begun their day four with some quick runs, thanks to Joe Root’s onslaught.
However, Aussie skipper Pat Cummins came to rescue his side with an unplayable yorker at around 140kmph. Ollie Pope, at a score of 14 runs off 16 deliveries, faced an exceptional inswinging yorker from Cummins, which sent his off-stump for a short walk. The right-handed batter couldn’t bring his bat down on time as the opposition captain breached his defence and got the breakthrough.
The incident happened in the 17th over of the English innings when Cummins came to deliver this third over of the spell. After conceding just a single run in the first three deliveries of the 17th over, Cummins was taken to cleaners for a boundary by Ollie Pope in the fourth delivery. However, the pacer retaliated remarkably with a dot and a wicket in the next two balls to have the last laugh.
Watch: Ball of the Year – Pat Cummins delivers toe-crushing yorker to dismiss Ollie Pope in ENG vs AUS 1st test:
Meanwhile, Ollie Pope’s wicket barely concerned Joe Root, who looked to take on the Aussies. Root scored quickfire 46 runs in just 55 deliveries with the help of five fours and a maximum. Interestingly, Root attempted a few ambitious scoop shots as well, a couple of which went to the boundary.
Although Joe Root continued his fiery attack on Australia, he was denied of his well-made half-century by Nathan Lyon. The batter danced down the track to attempt a big swipe, however, the ball turned inwards and Root was caught off-guard by Alex Carey who nicely inflicted a stumping.
As things stand on day four of the ENG vs AUS 1st test, England have managed to get a 261-run lead so far in the loss of eight wickets. Their current score reads 254/8 with Ollie Robinson and Stuart Broad in the middle.
Joe Root and Harry Brook were dismissed four shy of their fifties while Ben Stokes fell seven short to reach the half-century landmark. Meanwhile, for England, Nathan Lyon scalped four wickets while Pat Cummins remained the second-best bowler with three scalps. Josh Hazlewood and Scott Boland got one wicket each to their kitty.
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For more details head to ECB’s official website.