LIAM PLUNKETT has swapped bats and made his professional debut in baseball.
The former England cricket international is best known for his fast bowling on the wickets.
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Liam Plunkett has swapped cricket for baseball Credit: Instagram
He made his debut for the Oakland Balers Credit: instagram
Plunkett, 41, was part of the England team that won the Cricket World Cup in 2019.
He played 89 one-day internationals between 2005 and 2019 as well as 13 times for the Test team.
He has now swapped tracks and made his debut in baseball for minor league team the Oakland Ballers.
His first game in the sport came on Friday evening against the Yuba-Sutter Freebirds in the Pioneer Baseball League.
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Plunkett threw five pitches and even struck out Josh Duarte in front of a crowd of nearly 2,000 fans.
His efforts were unable to stop the Ballers falling to an 18-11 loss.
He emigrated to the US five years ago and has been playing in the Major League Cricket T20 franchise.
Plunkett, who was a fast bowler, has admitted his style is a blend between “bowling and pitching”.
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Plunkett played all formats of cricket for England Credit: AP:Associated Press
He reckons he is the very first English cricketer to make the move into professional baseball.
He told the BBC: “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.
“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.”
He won the Cricket World Cup in 2019 Credit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
Plunkett signed for the Ballers on a contract that allows the team to bypass roster eligibility limits.
He is the team’s one non-prospect player – a slot usually taken by a veteran from the MLB.
It is unlikely he will make the swap permanent and is currently a part of the San Francisco Unicorns squad.
He had tried his hand at batting but decided to stick with pitching as it was closer to his usual bowling experience.
He added: “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.”
