Picture Credit: Twitter
Matthew Wade, one of the most prolific Australian wicket-keeper batter, has employed his favourite scoop shot to get off the mark against Welsh Fire in the Men’s Hundred on August 20, Sunday. At the Sophia Gardens in Cardiff, the 35-year-old, who bats in the middle order for London Spirit, displayed his unique stroke play against Matt Henry, to the rapturous applause from the fans in attendance.
For the unversed, the captain of London Spirit, Dan Lawrence chose to bat first after winning the toss in Wales. The decision backfired on the visitors after three of the top order batters got dismissed for single figure scores, including the openers Zak Crawley, Adam Rossington, and then, the captain himself.
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But, in between this carnage, Matthew Wade got the boundary count of the London Spirit underway with a maximum off the second ball of his innings. He made a predetermined movement outside the off stump, and fortunately, the ball from Matt Henry was at the right spot for him to scoop away over the deep fine leg boundary for six runs.
Watch Matthew Wade's favourite scoop shot here:
Once Matthew Wade was dismissed for 11 off 6 balls with a four and a six, the batting innings for London Spirit couldn’t redeem themselves. They scored 109/9 in their allotted 100 balls, with four of the five bowlers for Welsh Fire picking up a couple of wickets each.
In the pursuit of a 110-run target, the opener Stephen Eskinazi opened the boundary count with an innovative stroke of his own. The Welsh Fire batter moved outside the line of the off stump to play the scoop shot over the deep fine leg region, but the London Spirit bowler Daniel Worrall fired the ball at his body, still, he had the presence of mind to adjust his hands to manoeuvre the ball over the deep third man region for a maximum.
Watch Stephen Eskinazi's innovative six here:
Daniel Worrall did pick three wickets in the bowling innings of London Spirit, but his efforts were not enough for the visitors. Jonny Bairstow, the captain Tom Abell, and Glenn Phillips played enterprising innings to help Welsh Fire chase down the target in a convincing manner for a six-wicket win.
