5 Moments when great cricketers cried on the field

Cricket is played hard and played fair. We often say cricket is a gentleman’s game. However, it is also connected with a lot of emotions. Millions of people and fans are affected by it. Not only them, but the players are also emotionally attached to their sides as well.

Hence, over the years, we have seen a lot of cricketers sob on the field. It may be because of various reasons. It shows that the game is connected emotionally and physically with the players. In fact, there are times when players have shed tears of happiness. Hence, there are multiple players who have shed tears on the cricket field.

Thus, here we look back at five moments when great cricketers cried on the field.

1. AB de Villiers and his South African teammates after semi-final loss in the 2015 WC

South Africa are tagged as the ‘chokers’. Often in big ICC tournaments, they’ve come to the knockouts and have failed to cross the hurdle in must-win games. However, they won their first-ever World Cup knockout game in the 2015 World Cup when they beat Sri Lanka in the quarter-final. Their semi-final clash was against a red-hot New Zealand side. However, the Proteas were up for the challenge.

In what was a shortened game (43-overs-a-side), South Africa racked up 281. Faf du Plessis, David Miller and AB de Villiers, all came to the party. With DLS coming into effect, the Kiwis had to chase 298 in 43 overs for a place in the final. Both teams had never reached the World Cup final before. Hence, the pressure was on.

After a great start, New Zealand were a touch wobbly at 149/4 but Corey Anderson and Grant Elliot steadied the ship and put their side on course to chase it down. However, it seemed like South Africa were very nervous as they dropped catches, missed runouts and there were misfields too. In the end, they paid the price as Elliot helped the Kiwis get over the line with a ball to spare.

The dreams of the South African players were shattered. Players were down on the ground sobbing. The likes de Villiers, du Plessis, Morne Morkel couldn’t control their emotions as they wept on the field. It was indeed a heart-breaking moment as the Proteas despite playing so well had to exit the World Cup.