Kumar Sangakkara turns out for third division club side in Dorset league

Sangakkara, who retired from international cricket in 2015, batted at No.5 for Shillingstone CC against Kingston Lacy CC at their Pamphill Green in Wimborne Minster, Dorset, and scored 68 off 50 balls before he was bowled by John Burns. Shillingstone posted 177 batting first and were bowled out in 36.2 overs. Following his leading role with the bat, Sangakkara also proved himself useful with the ball. He bowled seven overs and finished with figures of 1-32, dismissed Les Small as Shillingstone closed in on victory.

Shillingstone CC currently sit third in the league table, having played five matches so far in the season and won two. Following their defeat at the weekend, Kingston Lacy CC are in seventh, 15 points behind Shillingstone.

Division Three is effectively the fifth tier of recreational cricket in the Dorset Cricket League. Though Shillingstone and Kingston Lacy both fielded their first XIs, Division Three includes multiple third XIs. Sangakkara is not the only ex-pro to try their hand in the lower reaches of the recreational game. Two years ago, former England all-rounder Rikki Clarke divided opinion after scoring 229 off 109 deliveries against a club's third XI. 

Sangakkara's appearance for the club follows his move to the area last year. He recently returned from India where he coached Rajasthan Royals to the knock-out stages of this year's IPL.

In his international career, Sangakkara scored 12,400 Test match runs, and is the sixth-highest Test run-scorer of all time. He played 134 Test matches from 2000 to 2015, as a left-handed wicketkeeper-batter. In the white ball format, he captained Sri Lanka to the final of the 2011 World Cup, where they lost to India, and was awarded Player of the Match in the 2014 T20 World Cup final, which Sri Lanka won by six wickets.

You can find the scorecard of the match here.

Subscribe to the Wisden Cricket YouTube channel for post-match analysis, player interviews, and much more.