THE ENGLISH CRICKET TEAM TAKE PART IN A GOLF LONG DRIVE CONTEST WITH A TWIST

The English cricket team competed in a long drive contest with a twist: instead of teeing up a golf ball and hit it with a club, a golf ball was thrown to the players who had cricket bats in hand instead.

Held at The Grove golf course near London, each player in the squad had three chances to smash the smaller, dimpled ball as far as they could. 

First up was the English captain Alistair Cook whose attempt went what seemed a meagre 162 yards (148 metres) in golf standards.

But the captain's effort stood up for a while as team mates James Vince, Joe Root, Stuart Broad, Gary Ballance and Chris Woakes failed to out drive their leader.

Ben Stokes stepped up and was able to hit his ball four yards (3.6 metres) past Cook's and take the ascendency but in the process injured his thumb, though it was just a flesh wound.

Johnny Bairstow's attempt was the worst of the team, his wayward drive not even cracking 100 yards, much to the amusement of his colleagues. 

Moeen Ali also gave his fellow Englishmen a giggle when he became the first player to have an air swing.

But Stokes' effort wasn't enough for the win as another player hit the ball further and claimed the title as the biggest-hitting English cricketer in the hybrid long drive contest.