Andrew McKenna was once fielding like a golden god.

It is very important level that out, as a result of what adopted, the emotional torment, the unbelievable public embarrassment, and the serious bodily ache.

However for some time, there was once no person extra willing to box a ball within the Dambulla nets than talkSPORT’s Macca. And it was once a phenomenal sight, this skilled commentator and pop rock fanatic, bounding round like a 15-year-old looking to galvanize the senior workforce. At one degree he took a half-volley find it irresistible was once not anything. He scooped up each and every to be had ball like a steroid assisted ball boy. Every other second he was once so excited he virtually knocked me over.

And fielding world balls is hard. I say this as a result of I had dropped one previous. However some caveats on my drop, it was once hit out the screws, and I used to be gazing the opposite web when it was once smacked with the facility of 1000 Ravi Shastri tracer bullets. That stated, Gareth Batty made up our minds that neither of those have been legitimate sufficient causes, and I were given my hand to it, so I will have to have taken it. He was once proper.

The ball that in the end ended in Macca’s lack of delight wasn’t a skimmer; it was once a floater. A forefront from one web popped up, and immediately everybody known as both heads or catch it. Macca known as the ball early, and he ran for it. He did so, with each and every unmarried individual within the nets gazing, Ben Stokes, Trevor Bayliss, Sri Lankan web bowlers, all craned their necks round to look this gorgeous newbie cricket athlete stride purposefully against the ball, set himself underneath what some have deemed a dolly.

But it surely was once transparent that Macca didn’t rather get set proper, he was once shifting too rapid, such was once his athletic prowess, and both the ones the true catch will have to were simple, he’d misplaced steadiness on his far more than to it. As the easy taking a look probability got here right down to earth, he was once all over the place the store – no longer the smooth-fielding pimp of previous within the day.

Then got here the noise. It sounded sickening, like a small dove being beaten through a large ogre paw, it was once a squelch and pa. Ben Stokes face wasn’t one in every of contempt, however of tangible disgust, Both on the noise, or the drop, we can by no means know. Macca bravely went on, threw the ball again and got here again to the talkSPORT crew with a battered ego.

And a bleeding hand. The ball hadn’t damaged his finger, and even break up his webbing, it had despite the fact that torn up his fingernail and bent his finger in a peculiar course.

There was once Macca, in the course of Dambulla, bleeding, and pretending it wasn’t a large deal. We compelled him – the courageous guy refused clinical remedy for a couple of mins – over to the England physio, who did a qualified task of striking the good guy again in combination.

However Macca’s day wasn’t over, in a while afterwards, whilst it felt like scorpions have been attacking his finger, he needed to interview Mark Picket. Now such was once the throbbing, that he couldn’t bear in mind his subsequent query, however he soldiered on, he carried thru; he stood up.

It was once there, along with his mildly broken finger stood in the course of the bottom bravely protecting an interview that Macca showed his standing, and plenty of locals referred to him because the laborious guy of Dambulla. Macca’s hand would possibly have fallen aside, however the guy himself by no means did.