Snake, dogs to birds: When uninvited guests invaded cricket ground

In an unusual incident, the match between Galle Titans and Dambulla Aura in the ongoing Lanka Premier League (LPL) 2023 had to be halted for some time after a snake was spotted invading the pitch at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colomb on Monday.

As per reports, the incident happened after the fourth over during Dambulla Aura’s chase of 181 against Galle Titans.

Spinner Shakib Al Hasan was about to start his first over when he spotted the snake crawling near the edge of the boundary ropes. He immediately pointed out the development to the match officials.

One of the umpires was seen driving away the snake from the ground after which the match started again. The commentators described the umpire as a brave guy.

“What a sight? I have never seen anything like this on a cricket field. It’s a massive one,” said one of the commentators.

As far as the match is concerned, it was a thrilling game as Galle Titans won the game via Super Over. Batting first, Galle rode on brilliant knocks from Bhanuka Rajapaksa and skipper Dasun Shanaka to score 180/5 in the stipulated 20 overs. In reply, Dhananjaya de Silva (43), Kusal Perera (40) and Alex Ross (39 not out) hit cameos as Dambulla Aura finished at 180/7 in 20 overs.

The snake invaded the field and stopped play in the Lanka Premier League. pic.twitter.com/YJJxG5XV8V

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) July 31, 2023

In the ensuing super over, Dambulla scored 9/1. In reply, Rajapaksa hit Binura Fernando for a four and a six to help Galle Titans win the match.

Well, the snake invasion at the R Premadasa Stadium was not the first incident. Other animals and birds have also invaded cricket field in the past. Let’s have a look at some of those incidents.

When dogs invaded grounds

There have been multiple dog invasions on a cricket ground. The most famous incident probably came in the Trent Bridge Test of 1993. Hughes was ready to run in to bowl the first ball of the Test to Mark Lathwell when there was a commotion at Radcliffe road end. There was a mongrel on the loose.

Sri Lankan grounds have possibly witnessed the most dogs over the years; the most famous among these was probably during the first ODI of the 2007-08 series at Dambulla that trotted smugly during a Stuart Broad over.

The World Cup had been blessed by the august presence of the canines as well. During the Group B match between India and West Indies at Cheapauk in 2011 a dog had decided to bless the ground by its appearance.

When sparrows and pigeons were killed on grounds

During a first class match between Cambridge University against Tom Pearce of MCC, the ball hit a sparrow and killed it immediately. The stuffed bird is on display at the museum at Lord’s.

Fielding for Yorkshire in a Twenty20 match against Lancashire at Headingley, Jacques Rudolph fielded a ball at deep mid-wicket. The throw, however, never made it to the bowler’s end. It killed a pigeon mid-air. Poor Rudolph had to carry the dead bird out of the ground himself.