Michael Slater’s unlucky tattoo blunder is still hilarious

Michael Slater is the tragic, archetypal case for thinking very seriously before you permanently ink your body.

28 years on from the Aussie cricket great’s Test debut and the unfortunate tattoo that followed it — it is still one of the most hilarious tomes in Australian sport.

The former Test opener has never been pictured in public with his unfortunate mistake, but the story of how he ended up branding himself with the wrong Test cap number continues to surface every few years.

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Slater famously received his Baggy Green cap when he made his debut in the First Test of the 1993 Ashes series in Manchester where he believed he became the 356th person to play test match cricket for Australia.

Former Australian cricketer Michael Slater.Source:Getty Images

The problem was Aussie quick Brendon Julian made his test debut in the same match.

While Slater was confident he was in fact test player No. 356, the honour actually went to Julian — decided on alphabetical order.

Slater was hoodwinked after he walked out to bat on the first day of the test while Julian sat back in the dressingroom.

It didn’t change the fact that Slater was in fact Test player No. 357.

By then it was too late, the number had already been tattooed on his torso.

According to reports, it was eight years later, in 2001, before someone at Cricket Australia had the courage to tell Slater of his mistake in the lead up to his test retirement.

The Australian Cricket Board granted a rare exception for Slater after he made an official request to have his number switched with Julian’s.

The Australian cricket team attends a Bon Jovi concert in the UK.Source:News Limited

Julian was happy to swap numbers after taking pity on his former teammate.

Despite the saga, Slater has not been scared off from going under the ink gun again.

Slater, Mark Waugh and Ricky Ponting visited a tattoo shop in London last year during the Ashes series — and all three walked out with some fresh ink.

Slater reportedly had the Southern Cross tattooed on his ankle.

Ponting had his Test number, 366, as well as his limited overs number, 123, slapped on his lower back.

Ponting had learned from Slater’s mistake and had the correct digits chiselled in.

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