ANYONE who has played cricket at any level has most likely, at some point or other, been involved in a run out.
Some of these may even have been faintly embarrassing - whether it's tripping over, colliding with a teammate in the middle of the pitch or a simple case of 'yes, no... sorry'.
What is less likely, however, is being run out while engrossed in a chat with your batting partner having assumed the ball has gone for four when, in fact, it hasn't.
Yet this is the fate that befell Azhar Ali, who represented Somerset in the second half of the 2018 season, during the second Test between Pakistan and Australia in Abu Dhabi.
Ali, well set on 64 with his side 160-3, drove loosely through the gully and the ball raced away towards the fence. He and Asad Shafiq, confident the ball had gone over the rope, met for their mid-pitch debrief only for Azhar to turn around in horror when Australian wicketkeeper Tim Paine whipped off the bails.
Mitchell Starc was the fielder who didn't give up the chase on the slow outfield, retrieving the ball which had stopped just shy of the rope and, in the process, leaving the home batsmen looking rather foolish.
Watch the run out in all its glory below - perhaps Azhar thought he was still playing at Taunton's small boundaries...
Odd time for Pakistan to film a Specsavers ad to be honest 👓🤦🏻♂️ pic.twitter.com/ftuc2CyYzB
— Charlie Reynolds (@cwjreynolds) October 18, 2018
The bizarre dismissal did not deter Pakistan, who are approaching a lead of 500 in their second innings. The series is locked at 0-0 after a drawn first Test.
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