New Zealand vs India: Mayor of Napier unhappy with play being halted due to excessive sunlight

The game of cricket has seen interruptions in various forms. Rain, storm, and even smog. But it was the first time in long time in international cricket when a game was halted due to excessive sunrays, which were making it difficult for the batsmen to keep their eyes wide open and concentrate on the ball. This incident took place in the first of the five-match ODI series in Napier between India and New Zealand. The play was halted for about 30 minutes.

This has left the Mayor of Napier, Bill Dalton, unhappy and he has asked if it was really important for the play to be suspended. He also questioned the toughness of these players, saying that international cricketers should be tough guys who shouldn’t get too bothered about mere sunrays.

“I wonder if in India they go off the field because they have sun in their eyes,” Dalton was quoted as saying by ‘stuff.co.nz’. “To be absolutely honest with you, my view is that these guys are sportsmen who play outside. If they get a bit of sun in their eyes that’s part of the game. It’s an outdoor sport and they’ve got to toughen up… It’s all a bit weird to me,” he added.

Indian captain Virat Kohli, who led India to an eight-wicket win over New Zealand said that this was the first time he experienced a sun-induced match halt. “It was funny. In 2014, I got out once with the sun in my eyes and this rule wasn’t there then,” Kohli said at the post-match presentation ceremony.

When solar eclipse stopped play

The closest that another cricket match has got to sun stopping play was in 1980 when an India-England Test match in Mumbai was brought forward by a day due to a solar eclipse. Last year, an India-Sri Lanka Test match was frequently interrupted due to excessive smog in New Delhi. There have also been instances of play being stopped due to crowd violence.

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