Watch: Moeen Ali tries a bizarre one-handed switch hit attempt
Only a few players could go on to attempt a stroke as unusual as what Moeen Ali demonstrated against South Africa on Wednesday, despite the fact that cricket players have adopted increasingly eccentric shots over the past decade. England defeated the Proteas in the third and final ODI of their series, but the home team ultimately prevailed 2-1.
Dawid Malan, who finished with 118, was the only one of England’s top four batters to reach double figures. Jos Buttler, the captain and wicketkeeper, also scored a century as he notched up 131 runs off just 127 deliveries. But it was all-rounder Moeen Ali who grabbed the eyeballs.
Before being dismissed by Lungi Ngidi, he quickly scored 41 runs, contributing significant runs to the final total. His rear-guard performance, in addition to centuries by Buttler. Then, Malan led to England scoring a daunting total of 346/7. From what was 14/3 at a point in the game, and the visitors then dismissed South Africa for 287.
The most noteworthy moment of the match was Ali’s effort at a one-handed reverse slap smash. Unfortunately, it was an unsuccessful attempt by the all-rounder. After failing to knock Shamsi’s delivery to the boundary, Ali chose not to pull off the unusual shot again.
The unconventional shot attempt by Ali made the cricketing world genuinely laugh. He punished Shamsi back over his head with one of the four sixes he struck in his brief innings, so his choice to forgo trying it again paid off.
Here’s the video:
England keep South Africa on the edge for direct qualification for ODI World Cup
Although England’s batting, with the exception of Ali, Malan, and Buttler, left a lot to be desired, their game in the second innings with the ball was a decisive factor in the match. As the defending World Champions gear up for the 50-over World Cup, scheduled later this year, Jofra Archer’s career-best numbers of 6/40 helped the visitors end a five-game losing streak in ODIs.
In order to maintain their chances of automatically qualifying for the World Cup in India later this year, South Africa won the series 2-1, albeit they might still need to win both of their ODIs against the Netherlands in March and April. Although the leading scorers were Heinrich Klaasen (80) and opener Reeza Hendricks (52), Archer almost certainly guaranteed that the visitors clinch a win as the hosts were bowled out for 287.
