South Africa vs Australia : Match interrupted for an unusual reason

On a rather interesting note, St.George’s Park in Port Elizabeth has a history of having ‘Brass Bands’ as a familiar group in the crowds for over two decades now. But it was in the second session on the second day of the ongoing Test match between South Africa and Australia, that it came into notice when they were asked to maintain silence in between the usual match proceedings as it created problems for the umpires to hear the bat edges.

Cricket is a game that is governed by its fans. The spectators come to the stadiums to grasp some entertainment via a good contest that takes place on the field. And to keep the fervor mood going, they employ different ways to cheer for their respective teams. Be it the bands in the West Indies, or the party-like atmosphere at grounds in India, the frenzy among the fans is a delight to see.

Eventful 68th over

The interruption was more prominent in the 68th over as the match got interrupted more than once in the same over. These were dramatic scenes when the band stopped and played on on several occasions. As a consequence of the regular stoppages, it also leads to the fall of Dean Elgar’s wicket on the last delivery of that eventful over.

South Africa vs Australia, 2nd Test

67.2 overs – Umpires ask band to stop playing, fans boo them. Band stops.

67.4 overs – Band starts playing again. Umpires complain. Band stops.

67.5 overs – Band starts playing again.

67.6 overs – Dean Elgar out. Band playing.#SAvAUS pic.twitter.com/YhceLv2emF

— bet365 (@bet365) March 10, 2018

As a result, early in the final session, Match referee Jeff Crowe had a chat with both the Umpires, Steve Smith and David Warner, issuing an official warning to the band asking them for the quieter environment when the bowler is charging in. It seemed the band agreed as they stormed out of the grandstand at one point, but returned later and played on a good thing for South Africa.

Band Treasurer shows discontent

The band treasurer Cole Ingram was quoted by radio station SEN, “Umpire is saying he can’t hear anymore because of us. Umpires don’t want us to play…We spoke to the match official this morning and we had a good understanding from him of what’s expected from us during the day, but now all of a sudden the umpires are saying we should stop playing.”

In response to the unlikely drama that occurred on the field, many Ex-Cricketers showed their dissatisfaction. Former Proteas Wicket-keeper Mark Boucher took to Twitter to express his displeasure on the incident, questioning Dharamsena on the noise level of the 10000 people screaming in the Eden Gardens to what he saw at the St. George’s Park. In a way he taunted the match officials for asking the band to stop.

Here’s what the Wicket-keeper batsman tweeted :

The next time 100000 people at The great Eden Gardens, start making too much noise(which is far more deafening than St George’s), please can officials stop the game. Ridiculous! Wake up Dharmasena! You should know better, you played!

— mark boucher (@markb46) March 10, 2018