Forgetting the recent failings of English cricket in Dhaka, here’s a quite brilliant piece of fielding from Liam Thomas – a member of the England Physical Disability team which played in Dubai last week.
Facing Pakistan, the 22-year-old dived to his right to prevent a boundary. In doing so, he lost his prosthetic leg.
Seemingly without a second’s hesitation, he sprung up and managed to hop towards the ball on his left leg before returning it to the stumps, earning applause from every spectator in the ground.
Crowd applauds as English cricket player Liam Thomas completes play after losing artificial leg. pic.twitter.com/Vvl3hwVqQw
— ABC News (@ABC) October 31, 2016
“It just happened, really,” Thomas later explained. “I was sprinting for the ball, put my hand out, hit the deck hard and the next thing I know I stood up and had no leg. I didn’t know whether to grab the leg or get the ball in. I decided to go for the ball.”
Unfortunately, his efforts weren’t enough to help England win the match, with Pakistan eventually claiming victory by three wickets.
Thomas has also urged disabled people to get into sport.
“Never in a million years would I have thought I would be touring Dubai, playing cricket, doing something I love. It’s just not something you think a disabled person would do, but being involved in disabled sport allows you access to do stuff like that.”
Inspiring stuff.
Colm Parkinson is joined by Paul Rouse for a heated debate about Sky Sports’ five-year GAA deal and an exclusive chat with AFL star Zach Tuohy on the new GAA Hour. Subscribe here on iTunes
