One of the most enduring images from the 2007 edition of the World Cup, marred by the unfortunate death of Bob Woolmer, was that of a roly-poly man, diving full length to his right at slip, to dismiss Indian opener, Robin Uthappa. On 19th March 2007, with giants India taking on a Bermuda side filled with amateurs, "Sluggo" Dwayne Leverock, a 127-kilo Policeman-Cricketer, entered cricketing folklore despite conceding 96 runs in his 10 overs.
A young medium-fast bowler ran up and delivered his first ball of the match, on a good length outside the off-stump. Looking to force the ball through the off-side, Uthappa got behind the line of the ball with minimal footwork. The ball flew off his outside edge and appeared to be going a fair distance away to the right of the first-slip fielder, Dwayne Leverock. Then, something extraordinary happened. 'Sluggo' had decided to throw his body in the direction of the ball and stick his arm out. And somehow, the ball found a way and nestled into his right palm.
Now, Physics defines a concept called the force of gravity. It is the force exerted by the gravitational field of a massive object on any body within the vicinity of its surface. However, Science could try and still end up failing to describe the events that unfolded next. The big man leapt up like a stag, ran one way then went the other. Two players followed him as he sprinted towards mid-off blowing kisses to the crowd. One of his teammates dared to lift him, and failed. The bowler, young Malachi Jones, had run off towards square-leg. The rest of the team caught up with him, hurled him to the floor and squashed him.
The celebrations lasted two full minutes. Malachi Jones was in tears. The next delivery he bowled was a wide. They would go on to concede 413 runs in the innings and lose the game by 257 runs, the heaviest margin of defeat in a World Cup game. However, a small sporting nation on the North Atlantic Ocean had charmed the world.
A young medium-fast bowler ran up and delivered his first ball of the match, on a good length outside the off-stump. Looking to force the ball through the off-side, Uthappa got behind the line of the ball with minimal footwork. The ball flew off his outside edge and appeared to be going a fair distance away to the right of the first-slip fielder, Dwayne Leverock. Then, something extraordinary happened. 'Sluggo' had decided to throw his body in the direction of the ball and stick his arm out. And somehow, the ball found a way and nestled into his right palm.
Now, Physics defines a concept called the force of gravity. It is the force exerted by the gravitational field of a massive object on any body within the vicinity of its surface. However, Science could try and still end up failing to describe the events that unfolded next. The big man leapt up like a stag, ran one way then went the other. Two players followed him as he sprinted towards mid-off blowing kisses to the crowd. One of his teammates dared to lift him, and failed. The bowler, young Malachi Jones, had run off towards square-leg. The rest of the team caught up with him, hurled him to the floor and squashed him.
The celebrations lasted two full minutes. Malachi Jones was in tears. The next delivery he bowled was a wide. They would go on to concede 413 runs in the innings and lose the game by 257 runs, the heaviest margin of defeat in a World Cup game. However, a small sporting nation on the North Atlantic Ocean had charmed the world.
No comments:
Post a Comment