At a time when bouncers, helmets, extra protection and concussion subs are ruling the cricket world, Australian wicket-keeper batsman Mark Cosgrove has defied all odds by head-butting a bouncer to first slip during a county game. Cosgrove, who was representing Leicestershire, swept everyone off their feet by deciding to use his head to tackle a bouncer instead of opting to let it go or play a pull shot against Durham.
Amused by the ‘header’ of Cosgrove, who has represented Australia in 3 ODIs, the official handle of County Cricket drew comparisons with Harry Maguire, who is known for his header in football. “Who’s the better header of a ball, @cozzie99 or @HarryMaguire93,” tweeted County Championship.
They were not the only ones. Former England batsman Kevin Pietersen took it one step further by going on to share Cosgrove’s header video with the caption, ‘Aus batters, how to play Jofra Archer’
While jokes apart, it must be mentioned that Cosgrove’s way was far from being the ideal one of handling fast bowling.
Jofra Archer had one of the most memorable Test debuts in the recent times during the second Ashes Test between England and Australia at Lord’s.
Even though the second Ashes Test ended in a draw, it provided cricket lovers across the world with a glimpse of what was there in store in the future.
One of the moments of the game — although it led to the England player skipping a beat — was when Archer bowled a ferocious bouncer to Smith which floored the former Australian skipper.
Smith, who had struck twin centuries in the Ashes 2019 opener, was on 80 not out on the fourth afternoon when he was struck in the neck by a steepling 92.4mph (148 kmph) bouncer from the debutant.
Before that, the 32-year-old had already received treatment for a nasty blow on the left forearm and fended off a lightning fast 96.1mph ball aimed at his ribs. But the ball which hit his neck had him at the deck immediately and he remained on the floor for an extended period before heading back to the dressing room for treatment.
The Archer delivery which made Smith retire was a unique one in the sense that it wasn’t that short. However, it was the pace of 92.4mph that made it such a lethal delivery and gave fans and cricketers the fright.
Marnus Labuschagne, who replaced Smith as Test cricket’s first ever concussion substitute, too had to face the fire from the 24-year-old England pacer on the fifth day of the Test match.
Just like Smith, Archer served up another brutal short ball — just the second one that Labuschagne faced — that struck the batsman flush on the helmet grill.
Labuschagne, like Smith, too was floored, but he was quickly back on his feet and wanted to get a quick move on even as England fielders showed concern for him.
In fact, Smith has ruled himself out of the third Test after the blow.
