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LEICESTER: Former Australia pacer John Hastings had a bizarre outing in the World Championship of Legends (WCL) 2025, bowling an 18-ball over that helped Pakistan Champions coast to victory at Grace Road on Tuesday.
Chasing just 75 for victory, Pakistan openers Sharjeel Khan (32*) and Sohaib Maqsood (28*) made light work of the modest target, but the headline moment came when Hastings came on to bowl his first over.
The 39-year-old sent down 12 wides and a no-ball in an over that saw him switch sides, try both over and round the wicket, and still struggle to find control.
His over included five legal deliveries, with the rest all extras, mostly wide balls that were well outside the reach of the batters.
Earlier, Pakistan had bundled out Australia for just 74 in 11.5 overs after electing to field.
Sohail Tanvir and Sohail Khan removed the openers before Saeed Ajmal ran through the middle and lower order with an outstanding spell of 3.5-0-16-6. Imad Wasim provided able support with 2-11 in three overs.
Australia’s innings never really took off. Ben Dunk (26) and Callum Ferguson (10) were the only batters to reach double figures. Such was the collapse that Australia lost their last eight wickets for just 25 runs in 39 balls.
In the second innings, John Hastings, who had come on as a substitute for Chris Lynn, was handed the ball when Pakistan needed only 20 runs in seven overs.
But the over turned into a comedy of errors, including five consecutive wides to start and three more later after he tried switching to round the wicket.
The over ended with Pakistan comfortably reaching the target.
Hastings’ outing was best summed up by the numbers: 18 balls, 12 wides, 1 no-ball, and just 5 legal deliveries.
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