CARDIFF: England had no complaints about a low and slow pitch after Mitchell Johnson was rendered a mere mortal in the first Ashes Test, but the wicket has come back to bite their captain Alastair Cook painfully.
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Cook left the ground for 45 minutes on Friday after copping a nasty blow to the groin region from a Steve Smith edge that did not carry all the way to him in his fielding position at first slip.
The instant reaction for most as the ball bounced in front of him and flew below his waiting hands was to chuckle - and fellow slipper Joe Root couldn't help but raise a smile.
WATCH: See video footage of the incident below.
But it was no laughing matter for Cook, in so much agony as he dropped down on all fours that the England medical staff raced onto Swalec Stadium during what ended up a five-minute delay.
"I saw it pretty clearly," Australian opener Chris Rogers said. "I was trying not to laugh. It's an unfortunate injury...(but) particularly when I saw Joe Root laughing I thought 'he's OK'. Apparently it was a sickening sound. I'll leave it at that."
When Cook finally got back to his feet he quickly checked everything was where it should be and directed a thumbs-up to the Cathedral Road End.
That was not the end of Cook's dramas, however. He made his way up the other end to begin the next over but, still feeling the effects, then jogged off the ground. In his stead, Root took over as captain and the toilet humour rolled in.
That's the first time Cook has shown any balls, was a popular one, a play on his reputation for defensive captaincy. Another commenter suggested he was doing ball-by-ball commentary during his absence from play. Time for the new ball? It went on.
The Sky Sports commentary team also had some fun with the incident once Cook made his way back onto the ground before tea.
"What's the treatment? A pack of ice?" Ian Botham asked his colleague in the Sky box, former England captain David Gower.
"I think meditation is the only thing," Gower replied.
England spinner Moeen Ali said afterwards of his captain: "He's good. He was obviously a bit worried at the time but he's good now."
Australia ended the day on 5/264 in their first innings, trailing England by 166 runs.