- The sport icon scored his runs from 50 balls before being bowled by opponent
- He also bowled spin, taking one with with the ball for 32 runs in his side’s win
- Now a Sky pundit, he is ranked sixth on the list of all-time run scorers in Tests
A cricket legend shocked village players when he turned up to play a game for Shillingstone against Kingston Lacy at the weekend.
The 46-year-old, who is regarded as one of the best batters of the 21st century, made an unexpected appearance as he scored 68 runs for the Dorset-based side before being bowled.
He was dismissed by spinner John Burns, batting at five as he took the majority of the bowlers to the sword before being dismissed by the amateur.
The Sky pundit, who scored 12,400 Test runs in his career for Sri Lanka, also bowled in the game, turning his arm over with some spin of his own, taking one wicket for 32 runs.
It was indeed Kumar Sangakkara, who surprised the locals before posing for pictures with them, featuring in the match which was held in the third division of the Dorset Cricket League on Saturday.
The batter, who sits sixth in the Test match rankings for career runs scored, played for the likes of Surrey before retiring in 2015.
He smashed his 68 runs from 50 balls in Minster, with his side posting 177 overall batting first and eventually winning the game.
‘We knew a couple of days before that he would be playing,’ Burns told BBC South Today. ‘We were just hoping he would actually turn up and it wasn’t some kind of joke, when he did arrive it was just something special, it was amazing.
‘He hit me for a couple of fours and sixes in the over before. He had been coming down the wicket every few balls, I tried to make him come forward when I bowled.
‘Thankfully he did and luckily I hit the leg stump, it’s something I’ll never forget and can tell people about for years to come.’
The division the former wicketkeeper played in is essentially the fifth tier of amateur cricket in Dorset, with the league including multiple third XIs.
Cricketers are often known for playing club cricket to keep them in nick during the off-season, though Sangakkara is now long-retired from playing.