Umpires having a chat after the match had been stopped
In the world of cricket, we have seen players being given out for timeouts, such as Angelo Mathews for a broken helmet and Saud Shakeel for falling asleep in the dressing room. There have been several instances in the sport where the matches have been stopped for a while, either due to the batters or bowlers. But there have also been various instances where the umpires had to force the match to be suspended or stopped for a while. Although most of the reasons were genuine for a match to be suspended, there have also been a few of them that were unbelievable and hilarious for the fans. Here, we will be taking a look at 7 of the most unbelievable reasons why a cricket match was stopped or suspended.
One of the recent incidents that led to the match being stopped was during the 3rd ODI game between Pakistan and New Zealand. This match was being played at the Bay Oval, as the Kiwis had already won the series by 2-0, aiming for a clean sweep in this game. In the last game of the series, Pakistan started off well with the ball, as Naseem Shah took the wicket of Nick Kelly in the 3rd over. However, Rhys Marlu and Henry Nicholls had a great partnership before Nicholls was dismissed at the score of 31 runs. Marlu (58 runs off 61 balls), Daryl Mitchell (43 runs off 53 balls), and Michael Bracewell (59 runs off 40 balls) helped the Kiwis to reach a total of 264 runs.
Chasing the target, Pakistan’s team lost quick wickets, with Imam-ul-Haq, Usman Khan, and Salman Agha being dismissed cheaply. Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan played crucial innings for the team, but they also lost wickets. With the game now almost out of hand, something unusual happened during the 39th over of the game, which stopped the match. Jacob Duffy bowled the fourth ball of the over, but just as he was about to release the delivery, the stadium had a power failure, and the floodlights went down. It seemed like the WWE superstar Undertaker gave a surprise entry to the match, but shortly, the floodlights were back on. Fortunately, Tayyab Tahir stepped aside from the delivery, or else he could have also been injured. In the end, Pakistan was bowled out for 221, allowing the Kiwis to win by 43 runs.
Another hilarious reason for a cricket match to be stopped came during the 2019 Cricket World Cup, in a group-stage match between Sri Lanka and South Africa. There have been a few instances where the matches have been stopped due to insects invading the field but this time, the bees spent around 65 minutes on the field, as the moment was filled with laughter and joy for both fans and players.
The match started off with Sri Lanka batting first, but their line-up was not able to perform well, losing quick wickets. With Karunaratne being out on the very first ball of the innings, Kusal Perera and Avishka Fernando had an impressive 67-run stand for the team. But after their wicket, the other batsmen fell down continuously, struggling to score against the Proteas. During the 38th over of the game, a swarm of bees had invaded the pitch, forcing the umpires to stop the game. However, the funny part of the same was that all players lay down on the field, making it a fun moment for both fans and players. In the end, South Africa went on to chase the score of 203 in 37.2 overs with 9 wickets remaining.
How funny could it be when all of a sudden, an individual drives his car into the ground and starts roaming around with the same? This incident took place during a Ranji Trophy match between Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, which took place at the Palam A Ground in the 2017 edition. The match started with Uttar Pradesh batting first, as they scored 291 runs in the first innings. In the second innings, Delhi tried its best to fight back but ended up at the score of 269, as Dhruv Shorey was not out at the score of 98.
Coming down in the third innings of the game, Uttar Pradesh lost quick wickets and was at the score of 224 for the loss of 7 wickets. A WagonR invaded the pitch, and the driver, Girish Sharma, drove his vehicle more than twice on the pitch, which could have affected the match status. He ignored the attempts of all the players and match officials to stop his vehicle and later confessed that he was merely lost and saw no security at the entrance, which allowed him to drive into the game.
A moment filled with joy and which was also a lot more wholesome for the fans, stopped the IPL clash between Rising Pune Supergiants and Delhi Capitals in the IPL 2017 edition. It was the 49th match of the tournament being played at the Dr. YS Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam. RPS won the toss of this clash and decided to field first, as Delhi Capitals struggled to score. The team was restricted to a score of 121 for the loss of four wickets.
The match was also restricted to 11 overs later, with the new target for Rising Pune Supergiants being offered 58 runs. As the game started, Zaheer Khan started off his spell against Ajinkya Rahane and Usman Khwaja. During the fifth ball of the second innings, the match was stopped as a street dog entered the pitch. Rishabh Pant was seen trying to shoot away the dog, but it was merely lost in his own thoughts, waving its tail at Rishabh Pant. Later on, Chris Morris also had a wholesome moment with the dog till the security came in and chased the dog out of the ground.
The first Test between India and South Africa during the 2019-20 series had an amazing start for the Indian cricket team, as Mayank Agarwal and Rohit Sharma put up a 317-run stand for the opening partnership. When the openers lost their wickets to the Proteas, the other batters struggled to perform well for the team, being dismissed cheaply. Ravindra Jadeja started to play the role of an anchor, as he was also able to score 30 runs in 46 balls. In a delivery against Keshav Maharaj, Jadeja secured runs via leg byes, but the Proteas suffered while finding the ball.
The ball ended up being stuck at the advertisement padding of the boundary rope, and the South African fielders were not able to find it for a long time. They started looking for the same beyond the boundary line just when the commentators noticed it stuck at the boundary rope. This was a hilarious moment for the fans and commentators, as Aiden Markram found the ball after some time and threw it to the keeper’s end for the game to resume. When the other fielders who were searching for the same realized that the ball was stuck at the boundary rope, they also ended up laughing at the incident.
We have seen players coming out to bat without any gear, sometimes missing the gloves, pads or even helmets. But during the 2017 edition of the Sheffield Shield, a batsman forgot to bring the bat while coming out to the crease. Fawad made his return to the tournament after a long time, and fans were waiting for him to come to the crease to bat. However, such a moment took place, which made his return a bit hilarious, and the umpires also had to stop the match.
When Fawad was coming out to the crease, he had his gloves on, he was wearing the helmet, and he also had his pads on. But what was missing? It was definitely his bat, and fortunately, he was able to realize it sooner, as he went back to the pavilion and told his teammates to bring his bat from the room. The commentators and other players also had a hilarious reaction, as the umpires also had to stop the game for a while to ensure that Fawad had his bat while coming out to the crease.
Out of all the reasons which have been discussed above to stop a cricket match, one of the funniest could be this one, as a delayed food delivery caused the match to be stopped. This incident took place during the first day of the second test between South Africa and Bangladesh in 2017, which was played at Bloemfontein. The Proteas decided to bat first against the Tigers and went on to score well for the team. Before Lunch, they had already scored 126 runs, and the Bangladeshi team was unexpectedly given more time to give some thought to their bowling strategies.
Both teams had different caterers for the match, as the Bangladeshi players were given Halal food for the same. Unfortunately, the caterers were told to get the meal prepared by 11:00 AM, but the time printed on the menu was 12:30 PM, which delayed food delivery. However, as lunch arrived for the team, they had to eat it up in a hurry, which could also be an excuse for the Bangladeshi bowlers for their poor bowling performances in the game. Most of the cricket fans may also not have believed this reason, but it was tweeted during lunch by the match commentator, Neil Manthorp.
Cricket has been a game filled with thrilling moments on every delivery, but sometimes it also becomes hilarious for both fans and players due to some instances that have been discussed in this blog. From dog invasions to power failure, it shows that the preparations done by the team and stadium management could be good, but real life always has some unpredictable moments. Although these moments have been odd to be noted in the cricket history, they have also been able to bring laughter and excitement to both fans and players.