We all know how hard a cricket ball is and how dangerous it can be when being thwacked by the batsman after a delivery has been bowled.
There have been incidents where batsmen have been beaten by the pace, however they were not missed as the ball has smashed into them in places that can rather hurt.
Australia’s Steven Smith is one man that suffered a horrible hit to the face when he misjudged a rocket of a delivery from Jofra Archer in The Ashes a couple of years ago; a competition many always have plenty of fun cricket betting on when placing cricket bets over the course of a season.
However, if players had to rank what would be the worst thing to happen when playing a cricket match after being hit by the cricket ball in a painful way, then perhaps smashing and damaging property might just be second on that list, especially if it is personal property.
Just ask Asif Ali.
The batsman was playing for Illingworth St Mary’s Cricket Club against Sowerby St Peter’s in the Halifax Cricket League Crossley Shield quarter-final.
Ali was going well and appeared to be in a good rhythm for his side at the crease, as he blasted the ball over the boundary rope for six, however what followed will have been more than damaging than the six runs he added to his team’s total.
Indeed, Ali had smashed the ball into his own car and shattered the rear window of his Vauxhall Zafira; other sports might call that a bullseye, unfortunately for Ali, cricket does not.
It is claimed that the smash could be heard around the ground as the ball hit the window of the car parked in the car park, leading to Ali to drop to his knees and bury his head in his hands after the realisation that it could prove costly.
Ali was the only one to be holding his head in his hands, though, as everyone else around the ground – players and spectators – were all heard laughing at the situation.
After the game, the club told the Yorkshire Evening Post that he was “devastated afterwards, but could see the funny side of it all.”
Later adding that an onlooker shouted “Asif, please can we have your keys so that we can open your car and get the ball back?”
Perhaps even worse, Illingworth St Mary’s would go on to lose the fixture by seven wickets.
So, if a defeat in the Halifax Cricket League Crossley Shield quarter-final was not bad enough, Ali was also out of pocket, despite having hit a ‘massive six’.
