5 Instances when cricket matches were delayed due to weird reasons

The game of cricket has given us plenty of memorable moments on the field and never fails to entertain us. However, it can be a bit frustrating when matches get delayed due to reasons we can’t control like rain and bad light, especially when most of the other sports don’t face such restrictions and delays.

In recent times, even sunlight has stopped games in New Zealand, both domestic and international. There have been instances of games getting delayed due to various other reasons as well, some of them being funny while the others not so much.

Here, we shall have a look at five instances when cricket matches were delayed due to weird reasons:

1. Highway closure due to fog

The most recent incident on the list, the third ODI between Afghanistan and Ireland had a delayed start due to highway closure because of fog, which prevented the team buses from reaching the stadium. As a result, the start of the game was delayed by more than 1 hour.

Meanwhile, Afghanistan won all their three matches and as a result, whitewashed the series, being held in the UAE. However, due to the Cricket World Cup Super League, there are no dead rubbers, which means both teams have more incentive than usual.

Games getting delayed by incidents taking place on or near the stadium is quite common, however, a game being delayed due to highway closure is one of its kind and could potentially be the first and last time it takes place!

2. A person drives his car into the stadium

A Ranji Trophy game between Delhi and Uttar Pradesh during November 2017 was delayed because a man drove his car into the Palam sports complex, where the game was being played. He drove into the stadium and then ended up parking the car on the pitch while the players and umpires were trying to save themselves.

Fortunately, none of the players suffered any injuries due to this bizarre incident. The match referee and the umpires declared that the tyres didn’t damage the pitch and that the game would carry on.

Ishant Sharma’s Delhi ended up winning the game by successfully chasing the target of 252 set by the opposition. This incident of a man parking his car on the pitch is quite possibly the strangest thing to take place during a cricket match.

3. Nathan Lyon’s burnt toast

Nathan Lyon will be remembered by fans as one of the greatest Test match spinners produced by Australia, but he will also go down in history for causing one of the most comical delays the game will ever see. During a Sheffield Shield game between New South Wales and Queensland during 2017, Lyon decided to make himself a slice of toast.

However, he got carried away watching the game and in the process completely forgot about the toast. The burnt toast set off the fire alarm, which led to a delay in proceedings and when the fire engines arrived, Lyon had to make a rather embarrassing confession.

Play was delayed for about 30 minutes before NSW came out to finish their job and won the game comfortably by 6 wickets. This incident, which took place at the Allan Border field is surely up there with some of the funniest delays caused in any sport.

4. Delayed food delivery

This incident took place during the 2nd Test match of the 2-game series between South Africa and Bangladesh. The start of the second session on the first day in Bloemfontein was delayed by about 10 minutes due to the delayed delivery of Halal food for the visitors.

Both the teams had separate caterers, and Bangladesh’s food arrived late which caused the delay. However, it was later revealed that a wrong printed menu was the main reason behind the delay in proceedings. South Africa ended up defeating the Tigers by an innings and 254 runs.

The officials would have been feeling quite embarrassed for being a part of such an incident, but fortunately for them, the game wasn’t delayed for a whole lot of time.

5. Umpire forgets that the ball is in his pocket

Without any doubt, this has to be the funniest incident on this list. During an IPL game between Kings XI Punjab and Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2019, the ball wasn’t to be found after a strategic time-out was taken in the 14th over of the first innings when RCB were batting.

The 4th umpire came out with a box of fresh balls, but it was after a few minutes that umpire Shamshuddin realised that he had the ball in his pocket after seeing replays on the big screen. RCB won the game by 17 runs thanks to AB de Villiers’ heroics with the bat as he scored 82 runs.

This incident left many fans in splits, while the players themselves would have had a chuckle.