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After falling victim to the one of the most bizarre dismissals in recent memory, Azhar Ali doesn’t expect he’ll ever hear the end of it from his three sons.
His eldest, 10-year-old Ibtisam, arrived at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium on Thursday hoping to see his dad score his 15th Test century.
Instead, he found out he’d been run out for 64 standing metres out of his crease while convening for a mid-pitch chat with his batting partner. Azhar had thought he’d hit a boundary and Australia took full advantage of his lack of awareness.
“I’m lost for words,” former Australia captain Allan Border said on commentary. “That’s just total stupidity. There’s no other way to describe it.”
The day prior, Marnus Labuschagne was run-out at the non-striker’s end in what Aaron Finch described as a “brain meltdown”, but ex-Test star Michael Hussey said Azhar’s dismissal was even more inexplicable.
“We’ve seen some of the biggest rookie errors in this Test match,” Hussey said on Wisden radio. “But that takes the cake.”
Thankfully for Azhar, it didn’t take long for him to see the lighter side of a moment that’s sure to become one of cricket’s most recycled internet memes and earn a spot in every ‘strangest dismissal compilation’ video produced in the coming years.
Not to mention endless comeback fodder for Ibtisam, six-year-old Azan and, when he’s old enough to watch his dad’s blunder, seven-month-old Azlan whenever their old man tries to have a stern word.
“I know I will be asked this question for a long time now, especially when I go back home,” a smiling Azhar told reporters after Pakistan went to stumps on day three just nine wickets away from a series win.
“My sons will ask it in a more funny way … They’re going to speak about it for years. Whenever I say something to them they are going to come back to me about this run out.”
It was, as Peter Siddle put it, a schoolboy error.
“As a young kid, my coach always told me you’ve got to run hard until it goes over that rope,” the Australian quick laughed.
Azhar’s teammates initially gave him a wide berth after he re-joined them in the dugout, though any awkwardness quickly disappeared as Pakistan gradually pushed the game completely out of Australia’s grasp.
Their lead had yet to extend their lead past 300 when Azhar departed but Babar Azam (99), Sarfraz Ahmed (81) and Asad Shafiq (44) ensured their opponents were left with an impossible fourth-innings run chase of 538 by the time they declared late on the third day.
Azhar took full responsibility for his strange exit.
“There is no explanation for it,” he said. “You shouldn’t be not watching the ball for (that) long. I didn’t realise that the ball has stopped at the boundary and someone ran and picked it up.
“It was one of those things where neither Asad or I had a sight of it … Even when the throw was coming back I thought he’s just thrown it after the ball hit the (boundary).
“When Tim Paine started to run towards the stumps then I thought a little bit something funny about it, then it was a shock after that … it’s my own fault.”
Qantas Tour of the UAE
Australia Test squad: Tim Paine (c), Ashton Agar, Brendan Doggett, Aaron Finch, Travis Head, Jon Holland, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Michael Neser, Matthew Renshaw, Peter Siddle, Mitchell Starc
Pakistan Test squad: Sarfraz Ahmed (c), Azhar Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Asad Shafiq, Haris Sohail, Usman Salahuddin, Yasir Shah, Shadab Khan, Bilal Asif, Mohammad Abbas, Hasan Ali, Wahab Riaz, Faheem Ashraf, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Hafeez
Oct 7-11: First Test, drawn
Oct 16-20: Second Test, Abu Dhabi
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