Published: Sep 06, 2015, 01:26 PM (IST)
Edited: Sep 06, 2015, 07:38 PM (IST)
Following the controversy surrounding the dismissal of their star all-rounder Ben Stokes, it has emerged that England are seeking help from any cricket specialist who can help the cricketer get rid of the ‘fear of the ball’. Stokes became the only sixth cricketer and first from England to be given OUT for ‘obstructing the field’ during the second One-Day International (ODI) against Australia at the Home of cricket, Lord’s. Stokes’ dismissal sparked angry responses from jingoistic England cricket experts and fans, but it would not be exaggerating to say that the all-rounder could have avoided the entire episode by not poking his hand in the way of the ball hurled back by the bowler Mitchell Starc. SCORECARD: England vs Australia, 2nd ODI at Lord’s
During the 26th over of the second ODI, Stokes played the fourth ball straight back to Starc, who had bowled a full delivery. Stokes blocked it, but left the crease in his follow-through. Starc sensed an opportunity for a run-out, and hurled the ball back towards the wicket. Stokes, who ‘feared’ the ball, poked his left hand to stop it even though the direction in which the ball was travelling was totally different. Stokes’ move followed an appeal from the Australians, and the umpires deemed it was indeed out.
There were angry reactions from at least England’s camp, who delayed the presentation ceremony after their second loss in a row to Australia in this five-match ODI series. England believe Stokes was right and Australia were unfair in appealing, but there are a few others who are looking to solve the problem once and for all. ALSO READ: Ben Stokes dismissal: England’s handling of the situation was dismal
“Lord’s and Ben Stokes have something mystical about them. He scored a match-winning century for us against New Zealand earlier this summer, but since then Stokes has had two horrifying outings. His shocking run-out in the last Test, which I believe was due to the fear of the ball (in the second innings in the second Ashes 2015 Test), is not serving him and us any good,” a source close to the England cricket team said.
One cannot ignore the fact that Stokes was dismissed on both the occasions at Lord’s ‘fearing the ball’, and England paid heavy price for his shortcomings.
“It was unfortunate what happened. We need to move on. The umpires deemed Stokes was OUT and questioning that would be against the spirit of the game. We cannot do that. Instead, we will look for options. I suggest we should take help from any cricket expert who can help Stokes get rid of the fear of the ball. I mean, it looks ridiculous when he finds such comical ways of getting OUT,” he added. VIDEO: Ben Stokes’ reaction was not deliberate, reasserts Eoin Morgan
Meanwhile, there were unconfirmed reports of England mulling over the idea of filing an official complain over it, but the source said it will look daft on their part. “We must move on. The fact that all the batsmen failed barring Eoin Morgan should be the thing to look into and time and energies must not be spent crying over what happened,” he concluded.
Please note this is a humour article — a work of pure fiction
(Golu Sharma is among the millions of lardy Indians who wanted to become international cricketers, but their bulkiness came in the way. He’s now freelancing as a cricket journalist, but doesn’t like to be addressed as ‘citizen journalist’. Golu also dreams of flying a Sukhoi MKI 30 so loud and fast that it proves to the aircraft’s Russian makers that it’s their lousy technology behind the crashes)
