In a heartwarming gesture, former cricketer Mel Jones on Saturday gifted a brand new bat to kids, who were playing with a plastic water bottle in stands during the rain-hit Day 3 of Women’s Ashes between Australia and England in Canberra. Jones, the cricketer-turned-commentator, was plying her trade as a commentator on the Women’s Ashes Test until the rain stopped play at the stroke of lunch.
As rain caused a delay in the match, the few kids present at the stands tried to make the most of the time by playing the sport by themselves. They had a tennis ball with them but they didn’t have a bat with them. However, they decided to make use of a plastic water bottle as a bat.
WATCH – Mitchell Starc Caught In An Enchanting Moment With Wife Alyssa Healy
The children relished the moment bit by bit by trying to smack the tennis ball with the help of the bottle. The children got along with the flow and enjoyed playing in the rain. The visuals soon caught everyone’s attention including that of former Australian cricketer Mel Jones who walked up to the girls and gifted them a brand new Kookaburra bat. Later, she along with her fellow commentators also joined the girls in the game. Jones was seen bowling and umpiring in this game at the stands.
Here is the video of the incident:
What a beautiful moment 😍 @meljones_33 gifting a brand new @KookaburraCkt bat to these kids using a bottle during the rain delay 👏
#WomensAshes pic.twitter.com/Esz5mO068a
— Fox Cricket (@FoxCricket) January 29, 2022
Coming back to the Test, England skipper Heather Knight’s fighting unbeaten knock of 168 powered them to 297 in reply to Australia’s first innings total of 337/9. With a first-innings lead of 40, the hosts decided to declare their second innings at 216/7 riding on a vital 63 from Beth Mooney who had played with a broken jaw as the Aussies gave the visitors a target of 257 runs.
ALSO READ: Ravindra Jadeja shares a sarcastic reply to Star Sports on Twitter
In reply, openers Tammy Beaumont and Lauren Winfield-Hill added 52 runs for the first wicket before captain Knight chipped in with a vital 48. The middle-order including the likes of Nat Sciver (58) and Sophia Dunkley (45) contributed immensely but, when they were dismissed, it seemed that it would open up the floodgates for the Australian bowlers to run through the tail and they nearly got the job done.
However, tail-ender Kate Cross, who was surrounded by all the fielders in the last over of the day successfully defended a high full toss from Alana King and earned a hard-fought draw for England.
