SA vs NED | Twitter reacts as Coetzee rewarded with shame instead of wicket after ball caught by Klaasen at slip
A pacer could ask for little more than having their second ball in an ODI being pouched at slip, albeit not in the way Gerald Coetzee managed in Dharamsala. The right-arm quick was left dumbstruck after the ball slipped out of his hand and nearly landed off the deck en route to Heinrich Klaasen.
After a lengthy rain delay at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium on Tuesday, play between the Netherlands and South Africa ultimately began with the encounter curtailed to 43 overs per side. The Proteas' new-ball bowlers breathed fire early on as they scalped three quick wickets to have the Dutch reeling at 41/3 when Gerald Coetzee was introduced to the attack by Temba Bavuma in the 12th over. The speedster did not enjoy the best of starts as he slid one down leg straight through to the wicket-keeper, which the umpire declared wide. However, he had little idea even worse was in store as he ran in to deliver the ensuing ball.
Steaming in from over the wicket, the wet ball seemed to slip out of Coetzee's hand and pitched right at the edge of the 22-yard-strip, giving the batter or wicket-keeper no chance of getting anywhere near. Heinrich Klaasen, stationed at first slip, did not have to budge as the Kookaburra headed straight towards him. The veteran did his best to remain stoic in the face of absurdity and only giggled when the big screens rolled the replays a few seconds later. Coetzee, meanwhile, took his time coming to terms with the incident as he stood his ground in the middle of the pitch, taking a hard look at the ball's trajectory and the spot where it had landed, before chuckling away while returning to his mark.
Unsurprisingly, the outright amusement displayed by Coetzee as well as the hilarity of the preceding delivery had Twitterati in splits.
What a wide!
— Ishan Martinez (@IshanMarti66419) October 17, 2023
Straight to 1st slip
Coetzee just bowled a ball right to the first slip 😭 never seen a wide ball like that before
— Skip Intro (@kitso_t) October 17, 2023
LOL
Gerald Coetzee with the old Harmison wide ball there 😂
— Philasande Sixaba (@psixaba) October 17, 2023
wide
Coetzee bowled consecutive wide balls 😂
— Nick’s Pizza || Raymond Reddington (@agobakwe_m) October 17, 2023
Nice
Nice keeping klaasen 😂😂 !!
— Satyam Shree 🇮🇳 (@Satyamcsk) October 17, 2023
Important protection
South Africa has 2 keepers behind the stumps and Coetzee bowled it to Klaasen 🤣 #SAVNED #SAvsNED #CWC23
— Mohit (@mohitkardiya) October 17, 2023
WTF
same for Coetzee
— Middle Class Chandler (@MC_Chandler01) October 17, 2023
Outswinger directly went to Klaasen at 1st slip
wtf https://t.co/jSmOs7crRo
Good one
Good for SA they had Klaasen at 1st slip, that swung
— Mazakiya ShortLeg (@MShortleg) October 17, 2023
Oh no!
Ngidi and Coetzee clearly not getting the message, bowling like idiots. #SAvsNED
— JM_McSwagger (@JM_McSwagger) October 17, 2023
Amazing!
Coetzee has been amazing for the Proteas 🇿🇦
— Bhut' Sonwa (@SonwabisoMtsol3) October 17, 2023