Watch: Ryan Harris breaks Michael Carberry's bat into two

Watch: Ryan Harris breaks Michael Carberry’s bat into two: England’s Ashes tour to Australia was a forgettable one for them. England was humiliated by Australia in the worst possible manner. A 5-0 whitewash was never expected. The English batsmen were clueless against Mitchell Johnson’s thunderbolts as he ended the series with 37 wickets, largely responsible for retaining the Ashes.

The confidence was shattered as Australia’s pacers turned into demons.

However, there was something to laugh in this grave battle for the Ashes. The incident happened when Michael Carberry was batting at the crease on the 3rd day (eventually the last) of the 5-Test matches at Sydney.

England were 2 for 48 in the 12th over. Kevin Pietersen (3) and Michael Carberry (17) were in the middle putting all the efforts to steady the ship. Carberry was on strike when Ryan Harris ran in to ball around the wicket to him. He leaned forward to defend Ryan Harris who was on his way to figures of 5/25 and a certain Man of the match award.

The ball struck the upper half of Carberry’s Kookaburra bat and snapped into half. The broken bat, in a way, signified the uninspiring performance of the English players throughout the summer that year.

Michael Carberry had a wide grin on his face after realising that the bat had broken into two pieces with the sticker holding it together. Ryan Harris also smiled in disbelief. Usually, it is the handle of the bat which breaks but this was a rare occurrence when the bat broke into half from the middle.

Ironically, Carberry was promoting Kookaburra bats before the beginning of the series. Harris was keen on getting the broken bat and frame it. However, it was taken to the Bradman Museum, Bowral.

Watch: Ryan Harris breaks Michael Carberry’s bat into two: