David Warner’s extraordinary scoop to Pakistan’s pace ace Shaheen Afridi was the shot of an IPL millionaire to a dime-a-dozen Test delivery.
There was a time when a fast bowler could be confident that a delivery aimed at the top of off would command the respect of a dead bat or thunder into the gloves of the keeper. In 2023, its final resting place could be in the stands.
Even in this turbocharged era, the gasps that echoed around the quarter-full Optus Stadium told of the crowd’s astonishment that Warner, despite a man placed in the fine leg region, had attempted such an audacious shot – and hit it flush despite misreading the length.
The pyrotechnic world of Twenty20, or the frenetic final overs of a one-day international, is the natural habitat of the ramp shot – not the first morning of a Test match.
David Warner was left flat on his back playing a ramp shot for six.Credit: Getty
Brad Haddin, who retired only eight years ago, said he had never thought of playing such a shot during his career. And he was not stodgy at all. In Australia’s infamous capitulation for 47 at Cape Town in 2011, the wicketkeeper/batter got out backing away to play an inside-out cover drive. The score was 5-18.
“The thought process about the modern player to score and bring 360 [degrees] into the equation is phenomenal,” Haddin said on Triple M. “That ball was top of off, going away, well bowled, to think of dropping your leg, ramp over fine leg – [it’s] extraordinary skill.”
It’s a shot that also requires bravery. If it goes wrong, you’re copping a cricket ball in the grill or wearing it on the chin from critics and past players, like Mitchell Johnson. You can imagine the feedback awaiting Warner if he had lost his wicket, laid out on his back from what he said was his misjudgment. Eleven years ago, Ricky Ponting made the call to retire days after tumbling to his knees in Adelaide.
‘Unbelievable shot’: The twist in Warner’s millionaire play to a dime-a-dozen ball
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14.12.2023
David Warner’s extraordinary scoop to Pakistan’s pace ace Shaheen Afridi was the shot of an IPL millionaire to a dime-a-dozen Test delivery.
There was a time when a fast bowler could be confident that a delivery aimed at the top of off would command the respect of a dead bat or thunder into the gloves of the keeper. In 2023, its final resting place could be in the stands.
Even in this turbocharged era, the gasps that echoed around the quarter-full Optus Stadium told of........
© The Sydney Morning Herald
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