Former England fast bowler Liam Plunkett has done something quite out of the ordinary. To be able to play just one sport at the highest level is enough for anyone, but Plunkett has gone for another sport.
It might have some similarities with cricket, but actually, it’s quite different. It’s baseball. The 41-year-old, this past Friday, made his professional baseball debut for the Oakland Ballers, which is a minor league team in the United States of America.
The match was against the Freebirds. For someone who is new to the game, he didn’t do that badly. He pitched five times and struck out once. It should not surprise those who have seen him play cricket for England. He was a fast bowler and should have strong shoulders. A lot of things went his way in the match, except that his team lost the contest 18-11.
“I’ve previously done the ceremonial first pitch for the Philadelphia Phillies and Minnesota Twins as part of being an MLC ambassador, but this is obviously a little bit more serious,” Plunkett told BBC Sport.
“I think I’m the first English cricketer to ever play a professional game of baseball. It’s obviously a few rungs below Major League Baseball, but it’s still pretty cool to say I have played as a professional in two bat-and-ball sports.”
Baseball insights from Plunkett!
Plunkett was part of the English team that won the 2019 World Cup on home soil. In the final against New Zealand, he took three wickets. However, he moved to the USA five years ago and has been plying his trade in Major League Cricket since 2023. The new season of the MLC is underway at present, where he represents the San Francisco Unicorns; however, he has yet to play a game this season. Plunkett had also given a shot at batting in the lead-up to the baseball game.
“The swing path when you bat is so different compared to cricket, especially when someone is pitching at 90mph. I’d have loved to hit a monster home run because that would have gone viral! But to play my first game and get a strikeout, I couldn’t ask for more,” he added.
Plunkett represented England across all formats and featured in 124 games across Tests, ODIs and T20Is and came up with a haul of 201 wickets from 2005-2019. One has to salute him for keeping himself motivated to try his hand at new things. The Ballers took him on board as part of the league’s “marketing player exception” option.