A club cricketer in Melbourne has been timed out after walking out to bat without gloves or pads in a bizarre incident over the weekend.
As first reported by CODE Sports, St Kilda bowler Edward Verco sacrificed his wicket to prevent captain and No. 3 batter Will Faulkner from being timed out on the final over of the day.
After bowling out Fitzroy-Doncaster for 244 during Saturday’s fourth-grade match at Ian Johnson Oval, the hosts were tasked with surviving one over before stumps. However, St Kilda opener Miles Fricke was trapped LBW for a second-ball duck, dismissed by Lions bowler Rupptaz Kharoud.
St Kilda incorrectly assumed stumps would be called if a wicket fell during the final over, so Faulkner didn’t have his pads on when Fricke was dismissed.
Faulkner was at risk of being timed out as he scrambled to whip on his protective gear, but Verco, who typically bats at No. 11, waltzed out donning short as the team’s sacrificial lamb.
Verco chatted with the umpires for a brief moment before trudging back to the sheds for a diamond duck, dismissed timed out. However, his selfless act gave Faulkner enough time to pad up and walk out to bat at No. 4.
Faulkner survived the final four deliveries of the day, with St Kilda 2-2 at stumps.
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“It was a pretty selfless thing he did under the circumstances,” Faulkner told CODE Sports.
“We were under the impression that a wicket in that first and final over of our innings on the day would bring about stumps but that didn’t happen.
“I raced in to put my kit on as quickly as possible and I was padded up just around the three-minute mark, but I was asking what the vibe was when they (Fitzroy Doncaster) were standing around.
“We gathered pretty quickly that Fitzroy Doncaster were going to appeal for timed-out.
“Vercs and I being very good mates, he said, ‘Look Faulks, do you want me to grab my bat and head out to see what they say?’.
“He brought a bat out there with him to get an indication on whether they were going to appeal because if they were he was going to say he was the batsman.
“That was exactly what they did, Fitzroy Doncaster wanted to appeal for timed-out, and he walked off.”
The match will resume on Saturday with St Kilda needing a further 243 runs for victory.
