Watch: Roelof van der Merwe plays an acrobatic shot

Batsmen are innovating at such a speed in limited overs cricket that the bowlers are finding it really difficult to keep pace with them. The scoops are no longer for the few as most have added it to their arsenal. Since the traditional big shots the lofted hits over long-on and long-off are well secured these days with the fielders in the deep as well as the altered length in the death overs the batsmen have started to create new angles and hit shots tough to name. Somerset County Cricket Club’s Roelof van der Merwe hit one such shot against Middlesex in the Royal London Cup, South Group game at Taunton.

It was a low full toss on the off stump and van der Merwe picked the length early and was in an AB de Villiers position pretty early. That gave him time to execute his shot. He hit the ball behind and right over Middlesex wicketkeeper John Simpson’s head. It didn’t travel the distance and bounced on its way to the boundary but none the less was a really entertaining shot.

In his bid to hit the ball as hard as he could and the difficult stance he was holding van der Merwe rolled over at least a couple of times after hitting the ball. He was also eager to see where the ball goes and so was the bowler, keeper and the non-striker. Somerset went on to win the game by 4 wickets as they successfully chased down the 297-run target set ahead of them for the loss of 6 wickets with an over to spare.

The South African played a crucial knock. He scored 41 off 25 deliveries and that was the finishing impetus his team needed to secure the game.

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Watch: Roelof van der Merwe plays an acrobatic shot: