Sir Alastair Cook's reputation as one of England's greatest ever batsman counted for little when he was clean bowled by a 15-year-old in a local cup game on Monday night.
Cook, who is still under contract at Essex, turned out for Bedfordshire Young Farmers CC in their Heritage Cup quarter-final against Potton Town. And having amassed 12,472 Test match runs and seen off some of the fiercest attacks in the world, many could have been forgiven for assuming he'd dominate proceedings.
Sure enough, he clocked three boundaries off his opening 14 balls to reach 20 not out. Indeed, such a scoring rate was arguably quicker than fans were used to seeing from him in his prime.
But then the 37-year-old was undone by teenager Kyran Shackleton. An uncharacteristic swipe across the line from the former England captain culminated in his stumps being shattered.
And if that moment wasn't enough for the youngster, he went on to finish with 4 for 37 from his four overs. It proved a crucial contribution, with his team running out winners by 26 runs.
The unique moment was posted on Twitter by writer and Bedfordshire councillor Adam Zerny, and followers were quick to praise Shackleton for his scalp. "What a fantastic memory - well bowled, Kyran!" said @AncientKeeper.
@AWWilde1 added: "I’d be a bit worried coming in to bat next knowing the bowler just cleaned bowled Alistair Cook!" while @bob_smithson joked: "Hope he gave him a proper send off."
Some, though, also took aim at the opener for his apparent rash aggression. "That’s what he gets for slogging," wrote @noysey7. "Should be playing proper cricket shots."
@mattrowett noted: "Literally never seen Cook play a shot like this! But a great story for the young lad." Potton Town CC themselves did defend their esteemed opponent though, clarifying: "To be fair, they needed about 14 an over at this point."
Cook stepped away from the international game in 2018 but has continued to excel for Essex, last month scoring a century in their County Championship clash with Kent. It led to a clamour from England fans for him to end his England exile.
He remains his country's record scorer at Test level, despite his marker seemingly now being under threat by the form of Joe Root. His total of 33 centuries is also a national record, with Yorkshireman Root currently on 25.
As well as captaining England 59 times at Test level, Cook was also skipper for 69 OD's. Under his leadership, England won home Ashes series in 2013 and 2015 - but were also whitewashed down under in between.
