CHELMSFORD: Dutch all-rounder Roelof van der Merwe showcased astounding courage in Somerset’s T20 Blast fixture against Essex when he dislocated his finger while stopping the ball.
The incident happened in the 16th over of the first innings of the match when Roelof van der Merwe bowled a low full toss to Matt Critchley on the third delivery of his last over.
The right-handed batter went to drive the ball straight and cannoned it straight towards Merwe who attempted to stop the ball but dislocated his right-hand index finger in the process.
Roelof van der Merwe jumped up in the air in excruciating pain and immediately called the physio, who put his dislocated finger back in place.
What followed, left the fans in disbelief as Roelof van der Merwe sprinted back to the pitch and completed his over immediately after.
Taking to Twitter, Vitality T20 Blast shared the video of the incident and captioned it as, “Roelof van der Merwe is an absolute trooper: dislocates his finger brilliantly stopping a ball, gets it put back in place, and sprints back to bowl! (Viewing not advised for the squeamish).”
Roelof van der Merwe is an absolute trooper: dislocates his finger brilliantly stopping a ball, gets it put back in place, and sprints back to bowl! 😎
(Viewing not advised for the squeamish)#Blast23 pic.twitter.com/Z7naGZV76p
— Vitality Blast (@VitalityBlast) June 19, 2023
Meanwhile, Merwe’s Somerset outclassed Essex by seven wickets and 21 balls to spare at the back of brilliant knocks by their top-five batters in the run chase.
Put into bat first, Essex piled up a decent 186 before bundling out in the final over at the back of brilliant half-centuries by Robin Das and Paul Walter.
Das top-scored for Essex with a quickfire 72 off 39 deliveries, laced up with 11 boundaries and two sixes while Walter smashed two boundaries and five sixes on his way to a 27-ball 51.
Set to chase 187, Somerset batters put on a combined effort to chase down the total in the 17th over for the loss of three wickets.
Opener Tom Banton (40) top-scored for Somerset, followed by Tom Abell (40), Will Smeed (36) and Sean Dickson (30).
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