Shahid Afridi has done plenty of rash things before as an international cricketer, but his decision to bite the ball late in Sunday's one-day international against Australia would have to be one of the more ridiculous.
Pakistan's tour of Australia has lurched from one disaster to another with on-field capitulation complemented by off-field drama. The rot set in during the SCG Test when the tourists managed to give up a match which seemed impossible to lose entering the fifth day.
Since that point, it has been a downhill slide of dropped catches, selection dramas, foolhardy batting and appalling leadership. But whatever you think of the way that Mohammed Yousuf has led the side in the past two months, the actions of stand-in skipper Afridi on Sunday stand above all else as the most stupid.
Afridi has won plenty of Australian fans this season, especially after his work with the bat and ball for South Australia in the KFC Big Bash. His enthusiasm for the game knows no bounds and his ability to entertain the fans with a big smile on his face has seen his popularity rise.
On Sunday, an injury to the embattled Yousuf gave Afridi a chance to lead his country for just the second time. With Australia leading the series 4-0 and red-hot favourites to take a whitewash, the new skipper was on a hiding to nothing.
He failed with the bat and the pressure was on him to show his leadership qualities with his team defending a meagre total of just 212.
However, Pakistan fought back into the contest and after some tidy bowling from Afridi and Shoaib Malik, Australia had slumped to 7-178 and needed better than a run a ball to win the game. The soft ball was making it hard for Australia to score and things looked positive for the tourists for the first time in the series.
Then Afridi had his moment of madness. While talking to his bowler, he decided to take a bite of the ball, trying to hide from the 26 cameras trained on him. Afridi should never try and pass himself off as a master of deception, because it was so obvious what he was trying to do.
While the unsubtlety of the act made it look comical more than cynical, the intent was ball tampering and the implication for the experienced all-rounder is a suspension for his actions.
What's worse, the umpires picked up on his ill-concealed piece of trickery and made him change the ball. The whole match changed on that moment. Mike Hussey and Nathan Hauritz enjoyed playing with the harder ball and the Aussies got over the line, albeit with a bit of fortune along the way.
There was one bigger goose than Afridi at the WACA on Sunday. The moron who ran out on the ground and tackled Khalid Latif from behind late in the match. While the Pakistani opener laughed the incident off, the fact remains that no amount of fines can detract these idiots from acting in a completely irresponsible manner and risking the health and safety of others.
While Afridi may spend the next few matches on the sidelines, that idiot would be best served seeing out the next week or so in the cells as an example to anyone who thinks of pitch invading on any Australian ground ever again.