Otago’s Neil Broom plays the weirdest of scoop shots

The scoop shot in cricket is a pretty popular one, especially among the current generation of players. There was a time when Douglas Marillier, the former Zimbabwe cricketer, pulled out the stroke even against the likes of Glenn McGrath and Zaheer Khan. Then, Sri Lanka’s TM Dilshan used the shot to good effect. Now, Neil Broom from New Zealand has taken the shot to a whole new level.

The right hander played the audacious stroke in the Ford Trophy, representing Otago in their match versus Wellington in Lincoln. The 36-year-old was at his best and notched 112 off 127 to help his team rack up 262 in 50 overs. Hamish Bennett, Wellington’s fast bowler, pulled off a slower bouncer to fox the batter. But Broom was equal to the task and managed to score a boundary off the ball.

Broom was standing in his position and didn’t get overawed by the bumper. He got himself into position as the ball climbed into him. In order to make a proper connection, he leaped off the ground and scooped the leather right over his head. The innovative shot is generally played with one knee on the turf, but Broom put forth a very unique version of the shot, taking everyone by surprise.

Here is the video

Seen anything like this before?
Neil Broom used every part of the ground to reach his 112 against the @wgtnfirebirds ⚡️⚡️#cricketnation #OurOtago #FordTrophy pic.twitter.com/ABHa3QUybv

— Otago Cricket (@OtagoVolts) November 29, 2019

Broom’s knock scripts victory for Otago

As far as the game was concerned, it was an absolute nail-biter. Otago won the toss and on the backs of Neil Broom’s masterclass, put up a competitive score on the board. Mitch Renwick scored 50 off 68 and got decent support from Hamish Rutherford and Anaru Kitchen, who scored in their 30s. For Wellington, right-arm pacer Ollie Newton and spinner Malcolm Nofal picked up two wickets each.

In the run chase, Wellington stuttered early, losing a couple of wickets early. But Devon Convey (70) and Nofal (87) pulled things back for their team. Rachin Ravindra and James Neesham got out for ducks. At one point in time, Wellington was reduced to 137 for 6 with 126 runs still needed in 99 balls. Jeetan Patel scored 27 off 19, but Nofal got out to a run out and Wellington lost by 2 runs.