Wirral Cricket Club: World Cricket's Clowns of the Month, April 2014

April’s dubious award of World Cricket’s Clown of the Month does not just go to one individual, but to Wirral Cricket Club, a team based in Northwest England, who were bowled out for just three runs by Haslington Cricket Club in the TACS Partnership Cheshire Cricket League.

Their opponents put together an infinitely reachable total of 108 batting first, with David Fletcher of Wirral taking 5-30 in 12.4 overs to restrict Haslington.

However, Wirral started poorly in reply as both openers went without scoring, and then things only got worse as the next eight batsmen all came in and then were dismissed for nought.

Sam Bowman and Fletcher are now both eligible to join the Primary Club, as they were dismissed first ball, while Ronnie Gambles and Rolin Johnson dug in for 12 and 11 balls, respectively, before they were removed for ducks.

The only run off the bat came from No. 11 Connor Hodson, who finished unbeaten on one, while the other two Wirral runs came by virtue of leg byes in what was a loss by 105 runs.

Haslington only needed two bowlers, with Ben Istead finishing with 6-1 from his five overs and Tom Gledhill returning figures of 4-0 from 4.2 overs.

For their part, Wirral have taken their unfortunate innings in good humour as their story has spread like wildfire across the world.

In England, the Daily Telegraph and The Guardian, among others, have picked up their story, while news even reached Channel 9 in Australia.

The club’s Twitter account went on to ask a number of former professional players for coaching help, including former England players Andrew Flintoff, Michael Vaughan and Phil Tufnell, using the hashtags “#weneedit” and “#3allout.”

With a total like that, it’s hard to argue with them.