Cricketers are famously fastidious about their statistics.
And New South Wales captain Moises Henriques has revealed how he played on his teammates' concern with their numbers in a classic dressing room prank earlier this year.
With the Blues on the verge of victory at stumps on day three of their Sheffield Shield match against Victoria in February, Henriques detailed how he laid the bait and reeled in former Test opener Ed Cowan.
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"We were playing against Victoria and (Cowan) scored 200 runs in the game," Henriques told Cricbuzz.
"As captain of the team, on the third day I said that unfortunately the statistics from this game will not go down in our career records because of an incident that happened in the game.
"And I said that the staff at Cricket Australia had asked both captains and coaches if that was going to be okay and we said yes.
"And I just put it out and told the group and said that if anyone had any problems, they could put their hand up.
"And Ed put his hand up straightaway!
"I remember the whole group started laughing because everyone knew it was a joke.
"The statistics were obviously going to be kept from the game.
"I had to do all the talking in the joke and it was very hard for me to keep a straight face."
Cowan however had the last laugh, with his first-innings double century proving to be a match-winning hand as NSW completed an innings-and-77-run victory over eventual champions Victoria on the final day.
The 34-year-old, who played the last of his 18 Tests during the 2013 Ashes, was unstoppable in the back half of the Shield summer. After the KFC Big Bash League break, he notched scores of 212, 0, 115, 51 not out, 125, 48 not out, 69 and 80.
Cowan finished the summer with 959 Shield runs at 73.76 to comfortably lead all comers at the top of the competition's run-scoring charts.
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Henriques' Sunrisers Hyderabad were knocked out of the Indian Premier League on Wednesday, going down to Kolkata Knight Riders in a rain-affected elimination final.
The allrounder, who will now link up with the Australia's Champions Trophy squad in the United Kingdom, said he had benefitted from a more level-headed approach to the game in recent years.
"I did a lot of that when I was younger; focused too much on the last game, or a year ago or two years ago, or too much in the future," Henriques said.
"'I want to get picked for this team, or I want to do that, or at age 30 I want to play X amount of games.'
"I think the key for me is just being completely focused on the present and what I need to do today to be a better cricketer. And what I can do now to be a better cricketer tomorrow.
"It's what keeps me pretty level and wanting to play every day."
Champions Trophy 2017 Guide
Squads: Every Champions Trophy squad named so far
Group A: Australia, New Zealand, England, Bangladesh.
Group B: India, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Pakistan.
Schedule
Warm-up matches
26 May – Australia v Sri Lanka, The Oval
27 May – Bangladesh v Pakistan, Edgbaston
28 May – India v New Zealand, The Oval
29 May – Australia v Pakistan, Edgbaston
30 May – New Zealand v Sri Lanka, Edgbaston
30 May – Bangladesh vs India, The Oval
Tournament
1 June – England v Bangladesh, The Oval (Day)
2 June – Australia v New Zealand, Edgbaston (D)
3 June – Sri Lanka v South Africa, The Oval (D)
4 June – India v Pakistan, Edgbaston (D)
5 June – Australia v Bangladesh, The Oval (D/N)
6 June – England v New Zealand, Cardiff (D)
7 June – Pakistan v South Africa, Edgbaston (D/N)
8 June – India v Sri Lanka, The Oval (D)
9 June – New Zealand v Bangladesh, Cardiff (D)
10 June – England v Australia, Edgbaston (D)
11 June – India v South Africa, The Oval (D)
12 June – Sri Lanka v Pakistan, Cardiff (D)
14 June – First semi-final (A1 v B2), Cardiff (D)
15 June – Second semi-final (A2 v B1), Edgbaston (D)
18 June – Final, The Oval (D)
19 June – Reserve day (D)
