‘Strikeout’: Cricket World Cup winner Plunkett makes instant impact in baseball

Veteran of 2019 champions in first game for Oakland side

‘The hitter ​didn’t know what ‌was coming’

The former England cricketer Liam Plunkett swapped his cricket colours for a ⁠baseball glove, playing his first game for the independent American club Oakland Ballers – and ⁠even claiming a ⁠strikeout.

The 41-year-old was part of England’s 2019 World Cup-winning side — his final international appearance — taking three ⁠wickets in the tied final against New Zealand as England emerged victorious by the narrowest of ⁠margins on boundary count. He subsequently moved to the United ​States, where his wife ‌is from, and has ‌since played Major League Cricket for the San Francisco Unicorns.