In a strange incident, Matthew Renshaw reached his half-century in the four-day warm-up match between Pakistan and the Prime Minister's XI at Canberra's Manuka Oval with seven runs off one ball. Renshaw hit off-spinner Abrar Ahmed across the covers with the last delivery of the twenty-fourth over. With a full-stretch dive, Mir Hamza managed to keep the ball in play. Things went wrong for Pakistan, just as it appeared that he had rescued a vital run.
At the non-striker's end, Babar Azam received a powerful throw speared in by Hamza from deep. With great force, Babar threw the ball because he realized there was a danger the striker would be run out. However, the ball managed to go between the hands of captain Shan Masood and wicketkeeper Sarfaraz Ahmed before stopping outside the boundary ropes. In dramatic fashion, Saud Shakeel went and grabbed the ball as Renshaw reached his half-century. (David Warner Breaks Silence On Mitchell Johnson's Controversial Comments)
Watch the video here:
You don't see this every day Matthew Renshaw brings up his half-century ... with a seven #PMXIvPAK pic.twitter.com/0Fx1Va00ZE
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 8, 2023
Coming to the ongoing controversy following Mitchell Johnson's comment on Warner's selection for the Test series, the veteran batter's refusal to throw fuel to the fire comes after Australian captain Pat Cummins stated that the Test team would be "fiercely protective" of the experienced opener in the face of external criticism, as reported by ESPNcricinfo.
Warner had stated his intentions to retire from the Test format earlier this year, stating that he would be keen to bring his career in red-ball format to an end at his home ground, the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). But in an editorial published in the West Australian a few days ago, the former speedster Johnson questioned why Warner had the authority to choose his retirement date despite his terrible form with the bat in Tests and accusing him of not owning up to his role in the ball-tampering scandal. ('Arrogant And Utterly Classless Individual...': Sreesanth's Comment On Gautam Gambhir's 'Smiling' Social Media Post)
"It wouldn't be a summer without a headline, would it? It is what it is. Everyone's entitled to their own opinions. Moving forward, we're looking forward to a nice Test over in the west," he said at the launch of Fox Cricket's summer coverage as quoted by ESPNcricinfo. (With ANI inputs)
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