'What a ball': Cricket world goes bonkers over Mitchell Starc moment
Mitchell Starc gave Australia the perfect start on day three of the third Ashes Test at the MCG, sending Ben Stokes packing with a beauty of a ball.
Starting the day at 4-31 and still 51 runs behind Australia, England were desperate for Stokes and Joe Root to stick around.
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But Stokes was forced to depart on 11 when he was undone by a jaffa from Starc that smashed into his stumps.
Starc's delivery appeared to swing slightly away from Stokes before seaming back through the gate to hit the top of middle stump.
Stokes missed the ball by a mile as he looked on in disbelief before offering a nod of respect to Starc.
"That's an absolute jaffa," Ricky Ponting said in commentary for Channel 7. "What a ball."
"Ben Stokes just threw his head back and stood there as if to say, 'I can't do much about that!'"
Fans and pundits were equally impressed with Starc's ball.
"That ball from Mitchell Starc that bowled Ben Stokes is one of the filthiest deliveries I think I’ve ever seen?" tweeted Sam Vecenie.
"That ball just absolutely DOVE left like a screwball. That thing was totally unhittable, good lord."
That ball from Mitchell Starc that bowled Ben Stokes is one of the filthiest deliveries I think I’ve ever seen? That ball just absolutely DOVE left like a screwball. That thing was totally unhittable, good lord.
— Sam Vecenie (@Sam_Vecenie) December 27, 2021
That Starc ball. No words. Pick your mythical figure and they would have been bowled by it. Surely Bairstow and Root are England's last last last-ditch chance at staying in this series. I do like how Root is playing his shots this morning, got to go down swinging. #Ashes
— Roy Ward (@rpjward) December 27, 2021
Like, that Starc ball to Stokes started outside stump, and then dove all the way back across to where it caught the inside edge of middle stump. That thing was completely untouchable at 144 km/hr. I have no idea how that is even touchable.
— Sam Vecenie (@Sam_Vecenie) December 27, 2021
That delivery from Mitch Starc to dismiss Ben Stokes may well be one of the best balls in this Ashes. Starc always does this against Stokes, mind goes back to his yorker to dismiss Stokes in the 2019 world cup.#Ashes #Ashes2021 #AshesTest #Starc #Stokes #MCG #BoxingDayTest
— Kanishka Raj Singh (@Kanishka183) December 27, 2021
That Starc ball to get Stokes out is close to unplayable #Ashes
— Charlie (@CharlieAirr) December 28, 2021
Lovely change of angle. Too good for Stokes.
— Sean Geoghegan (@SeanGeoghegan20) December 28, 2021
Starc! Absolutely unplayable ball. How is anyone supposed to get near that? #ashes
— Brendan Dawson (@BrendanDawson2) December 27, 2021
Third Test continues after Ashes players test negative
Meanwhile, Cricket Australia is breathing a huge sigh of relief after all players from Australia and England returned negative tests to Covid-19 on Tuesday.
Just hours after four non-playing members of England's camp tested positive to the virus via rapid test, all players were sent for PCRs after play on day two in Melbourne.
The outcome of those tests left CA sweating on not only the remainder of the Boxing Day Test, but the rest of the Ashes series as a whole.
But they were given the best possible news on Tuesday morning, allowing day three to go ahead as scheduled at the MCG.
"Players from the Australian and England teams all had PCR COVID-19 Tests after play yesterday and all results have come back negative," Cricket Australia said in a statement.
"The families of both sets of players also had PCR tests yesterday and all returned a negative test.
"The England team's support staff and their family members who tested positive after PCR tests yesterday are in isolation."
However questions still remain over the rest of the series, and the flow-on effect the scare could have for scheduling.
There is some thought Victoria could be a safe haven for the rest of the series, where close contacts of cases must only isolate until they return a negative test result.
with AAP
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