Here, caught on camera and on film, is the moment a cricketer's powerful throw felled a stray pigeon as it flew into the path of the ball.
Vintage cartoon pilot Dastardly - who was always trying in vain to 'Catch the pigeon!' with the help of his doggy sidekick Muttley - would have been green with envy.
Yorkshire fielder Jacques Rudolph hits the hapless bird entirely by accident but could hardly have done better if he had been aiming deliberately.
It seems he didn't see the approaching pigeon as it swooped across Yorkshire's ground at Headingley, Leeds. More importantly, the pigeon didn't see the incoming ball.
As a result the unfortunate bird was out for a duck during the Twenty20 match against Lancashire.
In the cartoon Dastardly And Muttley - with its theme song that went 'Nab him, jab him, tab him, grab him, stop that pigeon now!' - the moustachioed flying ace and his Vulture Squadron repeatedly failed in their mission to intercept Yankee Doodle Pigeon, a First World War messenger bird.
South African star Rudolph was more successful, as the video below shows.
About 20 seconds in, he launches the ball towards Yorkshire's wicket keeper from just inside the boundary rope.
We hear the crowd roar and see the other players react with amazement to what has happened off-screen.
Seconds later, as the commentators try to work out what has occurred, Rudolph walks over to the body of pigeon where it lies on the grass.
Sheepishly he retrieves the lifeless bird from the pitch and deposits its body over the boundary.
He then shuffles back to his position on the boundary with an embarrassed wave to the home crowd.
One of the TV commentators declares: 'The ball's hit a pigeon - and the pigeon is no more.'
As they wait for a replay to see exactly what has taken place, a fellow commentator adds: 'Jacques Rudolph is the man who could have the pigeon's blood on his hands here.'
Over a replay - about one minute into the video - one of the commentators says: 'We can reveal exactly what happened. Rudolph did the fielding, he gets the ball in the air, and with about as much accuracy as a Patriot missile he downs the incoming pigeon.'
'Poor old pigeon,' adds his fellow commentator.
Lancashire went on to win the Friday night match by five wickets.
