Sheldon Cottrell celebration: Reason behind his salute explained

West Indies won the toss and elected to field first against Australia and the fast-bowlers vindicated the decision of their captain as they rocked the Australian top order with four quick wickets. Oshane Thomas got the ball rolling with the wicket of Aaron Finch. Sheldon Cottrell then got the wicket of David Warner as he was caught at point. Andre Russell accounted for Usman Khawaja and then Cottrell was in the act with the wicket of Glenn Maxwell.

There is the Calypso flavour to this West Indies team and there is flair and joy in watching the fast bowlers run up and intimidate the batsmen. Sheldon Cottrell has caught the eye of everyone with his unique celebration as he marches down the pitch and offers a salute towards the dressing room after each of his wickets.

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“It’s a military-style salute. I’m a soldier by profession. Me saluting is just to show my respect to the Jamaica Defence Force,” he told the BBC earlier this year.

“I do it every time I get a wicket. I practised it for six months when I was training in the army,” he further added.

After dominating Pakistan in their first match, West Indies started off in great fashion against the defending champions.

“We want to continue to play some good cricket. I think it is going to be a good surface. We just have to be aggressive,” captain Jason Holder said at the toss.

First Published: Jun 06, 2019 15:59 IST