Day three of the second cricket Test match between Pakistan and Australia was most notable for one big-ass gaffe. Pakistan’s Azhar Ali was batting. He hit the ball. Ali, who had already hit 64, including four boundaries, thought this ball was also headed for the boundary—netting him an automatic four runs. So sure, in fact, that he didn’t even run. Instead he paused for a bit of chat with his teammate Asad Shafiq. It’s always nice to decompress in the middle of blood-pumping, fast-paced competition like Test cricket.
Except the ball Ali hit had stopped well short of the rope. Ali couldn’t see that because he was talking to his buddy, but Australia’s Mitchell Starc obviously could. He fielded the ball back to wicket keeper Tim Paine, who ran Ali out while the batsmen were marooned in the middle of the dang pitch, far from the safety of the crease.
After this spot of brain diarrhea, Ali figures he’s due for a roasting:
“My son is going to speak about it (the run out) for a long time and in a funny way,” said Azhar of his 10-year-old son Ibtisam, who luckily for him arrived at the ground after his father’s dismissal.
“Whenever I will say something about cricket he will surely come back to this incident,” he said.
Go off, Ibtisam!