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Cricket fans witnessed one of the most bizarre run-outs in the sport's history yesterday (July 16) during a Major League Cricket match between San Francisco Unicorns and Seattle Orcas in Dallas. Unicorns opener Finn Allen scored 28 runs off nine balls before he flicked a ball from Cameron Gannon towards the leg-side.
Allen and his partner Matthew Wade jogged for a single. Seattle fielder Shehan Jayasuriya noticed that Allen was running casually. The fielder fired a direct hit at the non-striker's end. Unluckily, Allen's bat got stuck as he tried to complete the single. He lost grip of his bat and got run out.
While this was one of the most bizarre run-outs in cricket history, it was not the first unusual run-out fans saw this year. Here's a list of the five other bizarre run-outs from men's cricket matches in 2023.
#1 Michael Bracewell was involved in one of the most bizarre run-outs in Test matches
England visited New Zealand for a two-match Test series earlier this year. During the Blackcaps' second innings in the second Test, Tom Blundell's half-century helped the home side fight back after being enforced a follow-on.
In the 159th over of the second innings, Blundell pushed a ball from Jack Leach towards the mid-wicket region. Ben Stokes ran behind the ball and threw it to wicket-keeper Ben Foakes, who took the bails off the stumps as Michael Bracewell and Blundell attempted to complete three runs.
It seemed like Bracewell was safe, but the slow motion replays showed that he had neither landed his bat nor his right foot was grounded when he crossed the crease. Hence, he was adjudged out.
#2 Max Bryant's direct hit beats Stephen Eskinazi's laziness
In the 2023 Big Bash League final between Perth Scorchers and Brisbane Heat, Stephen Eskinazi opened the batting for Perth with Cameron Bancroft. The Perth openers gave a decent start to their team in a run-chase of 176.
However, in the fifth over of the innings, Eskinazi got run out in a bizarre way. He tried to flick a ball from James Bazley towards the leg-side, but the ball hit him on his body and went towards the backward point region.
The Brisbane Heat fielder Max Bryant collected the ball and threw it towards the non-striker's end. Eskinazi's laziness cost him his wicket as he grounded his bat a few centimeters ahead of the crease while jogging towards the non-striker's end.
#3 Marcus Stoinis gets run out after clashing with his partner Deepak Hooda
Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) faced Mumbai Indians in the Qualifier 2 match of IPL 2023 in Chennai. During the 12th over of the second innings, LSG were 88/5 when Marcus Stoinis and Deepak Hooda were in the middle.
Stoinis was looking good as he scored 39 runs off 26 balls. He flicked a ball from Cameron Green towards the leg-side. Hooda and Green tried to run two, but the two LSG players dashed into each other, resulting in one of the most bizarre run-outs in IPL 2023.
Stoinis completely lost his momentum and fell short of the striker's end. Soon after, Hooda was involved in another bizarre run-out.
#4 Deepak Hooda gets run out in a bizarre way in the same game
Later in the match, Deepak Hooda got run out in a weird manner as well. Naveen-ul-Haq joined Hooda in the middle after LSG lost their eighth wicket. Naveen, who is a specialist bowler, placed a ball from Akash Madhwal towards the point region.
Naveen called for a run before changing his mind. Hooda had already charged towards the striker's end, and surprisingly, Naveen-ul-Haq beat him in a race towards the crease instead of sacrificing his wicket. Hooda, who was LSG's last hope in the match, returned to the dressing room after one of the most bizarre run-outs.
#5 Andrew Balbirnie catches Muhammad Waseem off guard in one of the most bizarre run-outs
The Andrew Balbirnie-led Ireland took on Muhammad Waseem's UAE team in the group stage of the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifiers 2023. Balbirnie outsmarted his UAE counterpart in the second innings when he launched a direct hit at the striker's end while Waseem wandered outside the crease.
A length ball from Mark Adair hit Waseem on his arm. He seemed uncomfortable for a moment and moved away from the middle. Since he was outside the crease, Balbirnie took the opportunity and ran him out.
