HITTING THE DECK HARD

Stray balls lying around cricket grounds are a hazard, a nuisance. In the past, they have been known to change the course of cricket history: Glenn McGrath in Birmingham, 2005, being the most obvious example. Now, for all that they're a commonplace sight, I'm pretty sure I've never seen one actually heavy-rolled into the cut strip. This incredible photo comes, I think, from Aussie grade cricket – appropriately enough, you might say, for the embedded ball resembles nothing so much as a meteorite that collided with the earth, à la Uluru, say. 

Speaking of McGrath, you imagine that, were he confronted with a ball buried in the pitch like this, he'd probably be looking to hit it four, maybe five times an over. Mind you, it looks just a yard short of his in-between length...

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