Player drops mobile phone while batting during County Championship match, hilarious gaffe leaves commentators in splits
A bizarre scene played out in a recent County Championship match in England, as a batter accidentally carried a mobile phone onto the field, and proceeded to have it slip from his pocket while attempting to run a double.
On the second day's play in the fourth round of the Country Championship, Lancashire bowler Tom Bailey came out to bat to try and extend his team's first innings total against Gloucestershire at Old Trafford Cricket Ground. Very early in his innings, Bailey tried to make a quick turn for a two at the non-striker's end, but perhaps not realising he had his phone in his pocket, had it slip out and fall to the pitch.
Bailey didn't notice the phone slipping out, with the Gloucestershire bowler Josh Shaw picking it up off the pitch. However, it remains unclear whether the phone was returned to the umpire, or subsequently sent back to the dressing room.
The commentators had a bit of a laugh at the expense of Bailey, who seemed completely unaware of what had happened on-pitch, an extremely rare sight at such a high standard of professional cricket.
'Something has dropped out of his pocket. I think it's his mobile phone!' one said, while his partner quipped 'No way!'
'As much as it is hilarious and we are laughing about it, I almost wonder if that's going to have to be reported. The fact that he was out in the middle with a mobile phone in his pocket,' added one of the commentators to plenty of laughter.
Despite the gaffe early in his innings, Tom Bailey went on to play a nice little hand, staying not out on 22* facing 31 deliveries. His innings having come in at number 10, just after the team had reached the 400-mark, help Lancashire reach a first innings total of 450.
Bailey then returned to open the bowling with the fresh new ball, even taking a wicket as he dismissed top order Gloucestershire batter Miles Hammond while the latter was batting on 97. Bailey's faux pas comes in a season where Lancashire have struggled through the first part of the season in Division Two of the County Championship, having drawn all three of their games thus far in this season. This follows a tough 2024 in which the historic County were relegated from Division One.
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