- England take on West Indies at Trent Bridge in the second Test of the series
- Kevin Sinclair celebrates somersault as he takes a wicket
- Englishman Harry Brook looked well prepared for 36 after replacing Joe Root
Kevin Sinclair sent Harry Brook back into the starting blocks in style on the first day of the second Test at Trent Bridge as the West Indian spinner produced a stunning backflip.
England had done well after lunch at 201 for three, with Ollie Pope sitting comfortably on 76 and Harry Brook looking comfortable on 36, having recently replaced Joe Root.
That came after Ben Duckett had benefited from some wayward bowling in the morning session, with his opening partner Zak Crawley out within three balls (no score), preventing England from getting off to a nightmarish start.
Sinclair only came into the team at the last minute after Gudakesh Moatie called in sick for the first day, but quickly made his mark.
After five solid overs, the spinner took the all-important wicket of Brook, who looked to scoop the ball to the leg side but misjudged the flight of the ball and went straight under it, hitting the ball straight into the air with his toes.
Kevin Sinclair celebrated the West Indians’ fourth wicket in style by doing a backflip
It’s the Guyana-born spinner’s signature celebration when he takes a wicket
Harry Brook looked well prepared for 36 but he had the wrong moment to shoot and tried to flick the ball to the legside.
Kirk McKenzie lurked at short leg and seized the opportunity to give the visitors their fourth wicket of the day, bringing on captain Ben Stokes.
But Sinclair wasn’t too concerned about the man entering and running off to celebrate his trademark party.
The bowler took a few steps before executing a perfect round-off and then performing a daring backflip, much to the delight of the Nottingham crowd.
Even though it may seem like simple acrobatics, there is a moving story behind gymnastics.
In West Indies’ now famous victory over Australia at the Gabba earlier this year, Sinclair took his first ever wicket in Test cricket, beating Usman Khawaja.
He had just struck a crucial half-century with the bat, taking his team to 311 all out. He achieved this with some brilliant bowling on his debut, but it was his celebration that made headlines.
In the Stumped podcast, he explained that he practiced somersaults in the neighborhood where he grew up – Angoy’s Avenue or ‘Cow Dam’ in Berbice, Guyana – to stay away from ‘negative activities’.
Sinclair explained the meaning behind his extravagant celebration earlier this year
‘We used to just go out into the backcountry as kids and practice our somersaults and landings.
That used to be my pleasure, so now I do it every time I get a wicket, to remind everyone where I come from and the neighbourhood I live in.’