There is arguably no worse sinking feeling in cricket than experiencing the fall of your wicket, be it watching the ball sail down the fielder’s throat or crawl onto the stumps. Kyle Verreynne nearly suffered one such nightmare on Thursday and had to be saved by fate after his own attempt failed.
Sri Lanka lost control of the second Test midway through the first session after a rollicking start had them flying with the Proteas 44/3 at St George’s Park. Temba Bavuma and Ryan Rickelton combined for 133 runs for the fourth wicket, the latter going on to register a maiden Test ton, and inspired further resistance from Kyle Verreyne in the dying embers of the day after David Bedingham fell cheaply. However, the wicket-keeper batter nearly scripted the end of his own knock with less than an hour remaining, and not only survived by the barest of margins but also produced an ionic blooper for the highlight reel.
The 27-year-old was up against Prabath Jayasuriya in the 76th over of the game and after pushing the second ball of the over towards midwicket, Verreyne was faced with a slightly quicker delivery along a similar line. Verreyne tried to push the Kookaburra again but this time he got a thick inside edge, causing the ball to bounce within the crease before popping up towards the stumps. Panicked, the keeper-batter quickly turned around and tried to kick away the ball with a raised foot. To exacerbate his worries, Verreyne missed the red-cherry by a fair bit but to his fortune, it ended up missing the leg stump and falling safely.
Twitterati was enthralled by the brief piece of action and took to social media to express their reactions.
Karate kid
Nice
#SAvSL | #SriLanka | #SouthAfrica
RSA 255/5 (81)
Day 1: 3rd Session
Ryan Rickelton 100(234) 11×4 0x6
Kyle Verreynne 41(72) 5×4 0x6 pic.twitter.com/V3qs5tm0ba— The Cricket Stories (@thecricstories) December 5, 2024
Past the slightly tough phase, Verreynne is cashing on some mediocre bowling here .#SAvSL #SAvsSL
— 🔁 (@Tutterdotcom) December 5, 2024
No way
9 LiVES!
No ways.
Well done, Kyle Verreynne. That’s a stunning review— Kate Nokwe (@This_Kate) December 5, 2024
LOL
Lol what is this batting stance from Verreynne?
— Jay Mngomezulu (@Jay_Mzulu) December 5, 2024
What is Verreynne doing here, standing in a very open stance on 5th stump ready to leave the short ball
Could be a sitting duck 😭#SAvSL #SAvsSL— 🔁 (@Tutterdotcom) December 5, 2024
Yup
WTH!
Wtf is that stance from Verreynne? Trying to get his feet moving?
— Blackwater Park (@demonofthefall4) December 5, 2024
South Africa is in a very strong position against Sri Lanka in the ongoing 2nd test.
It means #SriLanka is almost out and #NewZealand may not reach as well.
It’s India, Australia and #SouthAfrica are fighting the #WTC25 final spot.
Whom do you want to see in #WTCFinals?? pic.twitter.com/d9td9MKkbn— Cinema & Cricket (@Durgesh180790) December 5, 2024
Legend
