Following a thrilling run of play in the morning session, Stokes pulled off a never-before-seen field trap to remove Khawaja, a move that puzzled legends.
In Birmingham’s opening Test of the 2023 Ashes series, only one batsman stood between England and a first-innings lead. Khawaja’s heroic 321 ball-knock of 141 runs, the second-highest score by an Australia opener in England this century, helped the visitors battle back and close the deficit in the first innings. He was the second batter to hit a century in the game after Joe Root and the only one for Australia. Therefore, getting rid of the batter simply took one skillful motion. After a confusing stretch of play on Day 3’s morning session, Stokes dismissed Khawaja with a field trap that had never been used before, confounding England stalwarts.
England had dismissed Alex Carey early on, leaving Khawaja as Australia’s lone batting chance as the tail end was exposed. Australia was closing in, and England sorely needed just one wicket before lunch to keep their advantage in the game. Before Ollie Robinson came in to bowl his third ball in the 113th over, Stokes appeared to have made a million modifications on the pitch, setting up a ‘Brumbella’.
The England captain put up Ollie Pope, Harry Brook, and James Anderson as three catching covers, while Joe Root, Stuart Broad, and Stokes himself mirrored them on the off side as three catching mid-wicket fielders, resulting in a reverse umbrella field set-up.
Kevin Pietersen, who was in the commentary box, was completely perplexed by the strategy. He chuckled on Sky Sports, “Have you ever seen a pitch like that?” “I haven’t.”
But there was a cause behind the insanity.
Khawaja tripped the trap as he ran down the track to take on Robinson’s yorker, intending to play it square on the offside but failing to make contact. He had also missed the yorker in the previous ball, but this time it was on target, and England had made a much-needed breakthrough.
Australia scored 386 runs, falling seven runs short of England’s first-innings total. The dismissal precipitated a late collapse that saw Pat Cummins, Nathan Lyon, and Stuart Broad all go for ducks.
