Getting out without scoring any runs is an an occupational hazard for a batter and there is no escaping the ignominy
Cricket is both cosy and cruel. On the surface it can appear all polite applause (“clap the new batsman in, chaps”) and taking tea in flannel whites – but it has failure running through its bucolic green pastures like a diseased river. In almost every game from village green to Test arena there will come a moment when a player desires nothing more than for the ground to open up beneath them.
You might know the feeling. Maybe you’ve run out a teammate with some calamitous calling or bowled a series of extravagant wides. Lobbed a mortifying and potentially lethal beamer at a child’s head or overstepped to deliver a no ball at a crucial moment. It is often said that dropping a catch is the worst feeling to have on a cricket field, the ache of letting down your teammates married with the shame of spurning a hard-earned opportunity.