Former England captain Sir Alastair Cook had fans in stitches after bowling an over during Essex's County Championship clash with Kent.
Cook had earlier scored a brilliant hundred as Essex piled on 514 in their first innings, with fellow opener Nick Browne and debutant Matt Critchley also scoring tons. In response, Kent managed to earn a first innings lead as they scored 581, with Ben Compton and Jordan Cox both reaching three figures.
And with the game heading for a draw, Essex captain Tom Westley handed the ball to Cook for an over. The legendary opener is hardly noted for his bowling, having taken just seven wickets across a professional career which has spanned almost twenty years.
However, his over was certainly entertaining as he used a bizarre run-up when bowling to Jackson Bird. A clip of the delivery was shared by the County Championship on Twitter with the caption: "Sir Alastair Cook, ever the entertainer #LVCountyChamp"
"He's going to do impressions," says one commentator. "Who's this now? He's steaming in and that's played gently back at him by Jackson Bird," laughed the other commentator.
And fans also found Cook's efforts entertaining, with one simply tweeting: "Things you love to see". "Alastair Cook bowling always brightens up your day," added a second. "Bizarrely there are some people who don’t like the County Championship," wrote a third.
Cook has previously impersonated the late great Bob Willis while bowling, having done so last year in a game against Surrey and also during a Test match against India in 2014. Cook bowled two overs during that match and managed to pick up his sole Test wicket, strangling Ishant Sharma down the leg side for 13.
In the end, the match between Essex and Kent ended in a draw, with Westley admitting any chances of a positive result were "killed after day two". He said: "It's not been the normal Chelmsford wicket although we had a similar wicket this time last year against Worcestershire.
"It's a bit out of our control. It was pretty dead and the game was killed after day two with the amount of runs scored. But to start the campaign with 12 points is positive and the way the bowlers went and kept going – and obviously three centurions – is all positive."
Kent coach Matt Walker said: "It was very difficult to win the game when the other side has put 500 on the board. I think Essex would admit it was going to be tricky to get a result out of that wicket, not that it was a bad wicket - [there was] just not enough in it for the seamers."
