Sri Lankan fast bowler Dushmantha Chameera has put in a contender for one of the worst deliveries of all-time in the T20 World Cup loss against Australia.
It was a tough outing for Sri Lanka’s quicks, who had impressed in the lead-up to the match before being smashed to all parts by Australia’s opening pair.
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Just a few deliveries after having David Warner dropped by wicket-keeper Kusal Perera, Chameera failed to hit the pitch with an attempted cutter, as the ball slipped out of his hands.
“Oh my goodness!” exclaimed commentator Simon Doull after the ball. “That’ll be a no-ball and a free hit. It’s completely slipped out the side.”
“They’ve had enough problems, they really didn’t need this,” added co-commentator Russel Arnold.
Australian captain Aaron Finch, who was facing the delivery, could be heard telling the umpire: “It has to be a noey”, before the ball was called a no-ball due to missing the pitch entirely.
After coming into the match on the back of some strong bowling form, both Chameera and fellow Sri Lankan quick Lahiru Kumara received some punishment from Finch and Warner.
Chameera finished with figures of 0-33 off his three overs, while Kumara was blasted for 48 runs in his three overs, with Finch admitting the pair were targeted after the match.
“We knew that spin was going to have such a big impact outside the powerplay,” Finch said.
“So we knew the quicks we had to take a little bit of a chance on and we got away with it, which was nice, Davey played a beautiful knock.”