Middlesex’s captain, Toby Roland-Jones, must have felt confident as he struck a powerful shot, seemingly destined for a six, against Warwickshire’s Ed Barnard. The ball soared over wide long-on, and Roland-Jones appeared to have executed a perfect hit. However, little did he know that the seemingly nonchalant follow-through of his bat after making sweet contact would lead to a peculiar and unfortunate outcome – he got hit-wicket out!
In an unexpected turn of events, Roland-Jones went from sheer ecstasy to profound agony within a mere second. The ongoing County Championship Division One match between Middlesex and Warwickshire at Edgbaston witnessed this rare dismissal, leaving spectators astonished. The video of his dismissal spread like wildfire across social media platforms.
Batting aggressively during Middlesex’s first innings, the skipper Toby Roland-Jones, who had represented England in four Tests and one ODI back in 2017, had already scored an impressive 21 runs off just 14 balls, including two fours and two sixes.
Amusingly, even Toby Roland-Jones himself had noticed this peculiar incident but chose to carry on nonchalantly, as if nothing had happened. Little did he know that the keen eye of the third umpire was watching closely. After a thorough review, the third umpire determined that Toby Roland-Jones’s bat and body were still in motion, completing the shot when the bat hit the bail.
Out hit wicket?!
— LV= Insurance County Championship (@CountyChamp) July 25, 2023
Toby Roland-Jones thinks he has planted the ball for six but knocks the bails off in his follow-through #LVCountyChamp pic.twitter.com/c0tJoutjr3
As a result, the humorous sequence of events led to Toby Roland-Jones being given out by the third umpire, who believed that the motion of his shot had caused the bail to fall. It was an unusual and entertaining manner of dismissal that left everyone amused and bemused in equal measure.