Pitch Switch: 2019 World Cup Winner Liam Plunkett Swaps Cricket, Makes Baseball Debut In US

Former England fast bowler Liam Plunkett has swapped the cricket field for the baseball turf, making his professional debut for a minor league team in the United States. The 41-year-old turned out for the Oakland Ballers against the Yuba-Sutter Freebirds in the Pioneer Baseball League on Friday night on the USA’s west coast.

According to BBC Sport, Plunkett bowled five pitches and made an immediate impact by striking out the Freebirds’ Josh Duarte in front of 1,878 fans at Raimondi Park. However, he could not stop the Ballers from slipping to an 18-11 defeat.

A PERFECT OUTING! 🙌

Pro cricket player Liam Plunkett recorded a strikeout as the opener today — and walked off the mound with a 0.00 ERA

Thanks for coming out Liam, we had a blast hosting

you! pic.twitter.com/nPkssrOEjo

— Oakland Ballers (@OaklandBallers) June 27, 2026

A member of England’s 2019 World Cup-winning team, Plunkett moved to the United States five years ago and currently plays in Major League Cricket (MLC).

“I’ve previously done the ceremonial first pitch for the Philadelphia Phillies and Minnesota Twins as part of being an MLC ambassador, but this is obviously a little bit more serious,” Plunkett was quoted by BBC Sport as saying.

“I think I’m the first English cricketer to ever play a professional game of baseball. It’s obviously a few rungs below Major League Baseball, but it’s still pretty cool to say I have played as a professional in two bat-and-ball sports.”

Plunkett signed with the Ballers under the Pioneer Baseball League’s marketing player exception, which allows teams to include one notable non-prospect player in their squad. Despite this appearance, a full-time switch to baseball looks unlikely.

“The swing path when you bat is so different compared to cricket, especially when someone is pitching at 90mph,” he said. “I’d have loved to hit a monster home run because that would have gone viral! But to play my first game and get a ‌strikeout, I couldn’t ask for more.”

Plunkett enjoyed a successful cricket career, playing 13 Tests, 89 ODIs and 22 T20Is for England, taking a total of 201 wickets across formats.