The Cricketer runs down other madcap moments where the non-striker has played a strange role in the dismissal of his teammate
Henry Nicholls must be wondering what he has done to deserve this level of bad luck.
After mucking his way through 98 deliveries for 19 tough runs on day one of the third Test between England and New Zealand at Headingley, Nicholls was dismissed in the most peculiar of ways.
Coming down the wicket and driving Jack Leach's left-arm spin, Nicholls finally found the middle of his bat but could only watch in horror as his slightly lofted shot struck his partner Daryl Mitchell's bat and lobbed up to Alex Lees at mid-off.
It was a freak wicket, but not unique in the world of crazy cricket.
Here, The Cricketer runs down other madcap moments where the non-striker has played a strange role in the dismissal of his teammate.
1 - Andrew Symonds, Australia v Sri Lanka (ODI, 2006)
Australia allrounder Symonds could count himself incredibly unlucky in this VB Series encounter, when he timed a straight drive off off-spinner Jehan Mubarak perfectly.
Instead of picking up four down the ground, the ball leapt up off the bat of Michael Clarke and into the hands of the waiting Tillakaratne Dilshan.
Symonds appeared to tell Clarke that he owed him a drink as he trudged off. Quite right.
2 - Peter Nevill, Melbourne Renegades v Melbourne Stars (Big Bash, 2015)
Have you heard about the Aussie leg-spinner who inadvertently pulled off a diving header to run out an opponent?
Probably, but here's the story if you haven't.
The Melbourne derby at Docklands Stadium. Dwayne Bravo on strike for the Renegades and Adam Zampa running through his wrist-spin repertoire.
Bravo clubs Zampa back down the ground but the ball's path is blocked by non-striker Nevill.
The ricochet pings straight into the face of the toppling Zampa, his nose redirecting it perfectly onto the stumps.
Nevill is out of his ground by miles, Zampa's nose is a little out of joint.
3 - Katie Perkins, New Zealand v Australia Governor General's XI (50-over match, 2019)
It happens in the women's game too.
Perkins was the recipient of tremendous ill fortune in a 2019 tour match when she appeared to have driven Heather Graham down the ground for four.
No such luck.
Instead, her teammate Katie Martin got in the way, the ball knocked the bat out of her hands and somehow, despite it being only a few inches off the floor when it arrived, the deflection looped up in the air for Graham to complete a simple catch.
No wonder the Aussie looked a little sheepish to celebrate.
One of the more bizarre ways of getting out 🤷♀️ pic.twitter.com/vI3oFMitik
— Fox Cricket (@FoxCricket) March 1, 2019
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