Jimmy Anderson once left an opponent with an X-rated injury during a club cricket match.
The England legend has recalled the moment he was reunited with the former rival 10 years on from the incident.
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Anderson took 704 wickets in 188 Test matches for England as well as winning the Twenty-20 World Cup in 2010.
However, his latest anecdote comes from a local-level game from early in his career.
After striking an opponent in the box, which protect’s a player’s genital area, the rival was forced to undergo surgery on an injury caused by Anderson’s bowling.
The 42-year-old was not informed of the severity of the injury until 10 years later, though.
Appearing as a guest on The Grade Cricketer podcast, he recalled: “In a club game I remember hitting someone in the box, which is obviously quite painful.
“Didn’t think anything of it and then 10 years later, this guy was watching England at Old Trafford and I was playing the game and he waited for me outside the dressing room.
“He said: ‘Remember when you hit me in the box?’ I was like ‘yeah I do actually’.
“He was like ‘I had to have one of my balls removed’. So I was like ‘I’m really sorry mate,’ he’s like ‘it’s fine, it’s fine’.”
Anderson’s fast bowling prowess has seen him take up a role as a mentor for the current England team.
It comes after he was forced into international retirement last year.
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The decision was made despite Anderson wanting to continue playing Test cricket into his 40s.
Asked about the end of his England career in November, he told talkSPORT: “I walked in there oblivious to what was going on and there was Rob Key, Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes there at this hotel in Manchester.
“They just said, ‘We don’t see you making the Ashes in 18 months’ time, we want to give opportunities to other players and see who will take your place’. That’s how that came about.
“I definitely have made peace with it because lots of sports people say that you wake up one morning and you just know now’s the time to finish, or your standards drop or the quality of your performance drops.
“I’ve never really had that feeling, so maybe I needed that tap on the shoulder, that nudge in that direction.”
Anderson continues to play for Lancashire despite no longer being part of the England team.
The move came ahead of this year’s Ashes series in Australia, which is scheduled to get underway in November.
Across 39 Test matches against Australia, Anderson claimed 117 wickets.
