Otago Volts batsmen Nathan Smith and Michael Rippon have served up a contender for 'worst run out of the week', amongst a competitive field.
Yesterday, Pakistan produced this brain fade on the third day of their second Test against Australia when Azhar Ali thought he'd scored a boundary but was runout while making small talk with his partner in the middle of the wicket.
This morning, the Volts produced this howler in their round two Plunket Shield match against the Wellington Firebirds (see video in media player above).
In the Volts' first innings at the Basin Reserve, Michael Rippon clipped a ball off his pads down toward square-leg. But as he turned for the second run, he slipped. Twice. Compounding matters, partner Smith made it halfway down the pitch before realising Rippon wasn't coming back, then slipped himself, falling flat on his back. Smith was dismissed for arguably the most embarrassing duck of his career.
The Firebirds made 509 in their first innings and the Volts were dismissed for 190 in their first innings before lunch on day three.
Pakistan shocker:
On the third day of the second Test between Australia and Pakistan, a colossal brain fade left those watching on stunned.
As Pakistan began to turn the screws on the Aussies and push their lead to unreachable heights, the moment struck.
Azhar Ali clipped a ball off the edge of his bat and watched as it raced away towards the boundary. He then stopped in the middle of the pitch and spoke with fellow batsman Asad Shafiq.
There was just one problem … the ball never reached the boundary.
As the two men stood and chatted, Mitchell Starc tracked the ball to the rope and then threw it back to Tim Paine who was waiting near the stumps.
Paine wasted no time in whipping the bails off as Ali stood stunned as to what had just unfolded.
A solid innings was brought to an end in one of the most absurd dismissals you're ever likely to see in international cricket.
Social media couldn't believe the scenes and the commentary box was just as staggered.
"Crazy, incredible. For a guy who has played more than 60 Test matches," one commentator proclaimed.
"He's got to feel embarrassed, sheepish whatever adjective you want to find at this stage. It's just seriously bad from Azhar Ali."
"I'm lost for words. It's been thrown back right over the stumps as the two batsmen decide to have a little chat mid pitch and haven't completed a run at all," Allan Border followed up.
"I have never seen that before, I've seen a lot of strange things but nothing quite like that. Total stupidity, I don't know how else to describe it. What just happened?
"It's official; Marnus Labuschagne has now been superseded as the dumbest batsman."
Mark Waugh took his proclamation of the dismissal to the next level as the teams headed off for the lunch break.
"That's the world's worst dismissal, that's in the grand final for the worst dismissal ever," Waugh said.
Of course it didn't take long for the conversation to turn to if the wicket went against the spirit of the game as cricket is the gentleman's game. But Brett Lee and Waugh quashed those talks and believed if the shoe was on the other foot it would happen in the same manner.
"I don't think it is, if it was Australia on the other end, then that's the game of cricket," Lee said.
"It's just a mistake from the batsman.
"There's nothing in there that is against the spirit of cricket, that's just proper cricket. They're playing by the rules, they've done nothing wrong the Aussies and unfortunately the batsman have made the mistake."
"If you're that stupid then you deserve to get run out," Waugh quipped.
"It's one of the worst run-out dismissals ever."