Ben Stokes wasn't afraid to laugh at himself after his near 'village' run out during England's rain-affected T20 clash with Australia in Canberra.
Having already sealed an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three match series, Jos Buttler's side were pushing for a series whitewash as the captain himself was joined by Stokes in pushing the pace late in the innings. With matters initially reduced to 12 overs per side, Stokes had reached 16 off just 10 balls when he lined up George Maxwell off the final ball.
And it seemed like a boundary to finish off when he cracked a straight drive back over the bowler's head, before nonchalantly heading for the dressing room. What the 2019 ODI World Cup hero hadn't realised though, was the ball had been cut off before it reached the rope by an Australian fielder.
Realising that Buttler had run through for a single, Stokes suddenly dashed down to the other end, tumbling as he reached the crease. But to exacerbate the bizarre moment, he then tried to call for an unlikely second run, before turning around and getting back just before Maxwell whipped the bails off.
It meant England finished on 112 for 2, but spectators weren't able to see if Stokes' clanger was to have any effect on the outcome. With the hosts 30 for 3 in their reply, further heavy showers rendered the game abandoned.
The @WisdenCricket Twitter account later poked fun at the incident, uploading footage of the run out with the caption: "Don't bother running! No, wait, actually do."
And Stokes, 31, also saw the funny side, sharing the tweet and tagging the @ThatsSoVillage account that regularly posts hilarious mishaps from amateur games. There was also irony in him going viral for a blunder, given that during the second game he wowed fans with a phenomenal piece of boundary fielding.
Of greater significance to England white-ball coach Matthew Mott though, would have been Stokes showing some form with the bat after scores of 7 and 9 in the first two games down under. The all-rounder had skipped the seven match series in Pakistan after an intense summer captaining the Test side.
England play two further warm-up games against the Green Shirts (Monday) and the UAE (Saturday) next week, before opening their World Cup campaign on October 22 in Perth.
