Australia batsman Mathew Wade somehow managed to pull off an iconic move of Michael Jackson during the Boxing Day Test between Australia and New Zealand at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
Neil Wagner, who has been a nightmare for Wade in the ongoing series, was seen troubling the batsman again as he threatened him with a flurry of short-pitch deliveries. Other bowlers, Tim Southe and Trent Boult were also in the mood to make Wade’s life miserable at the middle.
However, amid the barrage of bouncers, a sharp yorker from Wagner disrupted Wade’s defence as he got into an awkward position while blocking the ball.
Taking to its digital content’s Twitter handle, Cricket Australia cheekily compared Wade’s position to the legendary anti-gravity move of Michael Jackson from the hit song Smooth Criminal.
Wadey, are you ok? Are you ok, Wadey?#AUSvNZ pic.twitter.com/m3wobUeuB0
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 26, 2019
Wade was eventually dismissed in the last session of the day by Collin de Grandhomme while he was batting at 38. Before departing, the wicketkeeper-batsman shared an 83-run partnership with Steve Smith who remained unbeaten on day 1 at 77.
Riding on half-centuries from Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne (63), Australia ended Day 1 of the second Test against New Zealand with the scoreline of 257 for 4.
After getting an invitation to bat at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Thursday, Australia lost Joe Burns (0) early on mere one run. David Warner (41) and Labuschagne then added 60 runs before the southpaw was brilliantly caught at slips off the bowling of Neil Wagner when the team’s score was 61.
Smith, who came in next, then took the team to lunch without any further wicket falling. During his brief stay before the first break, Smith was seen engaged in a heated argument with on-field umpire Nigel Llong.
In the post-lunch session, Smith and Labuschagne resisted the push from the Black Caps and slowly wrested back the initiative for the hosts. They both scored 83 runs for the third wicket before Labuschagne — after scoring his fifth consecutive fifty – was bowled by Colin de Grandhomme at 63.