Snake Halts Play in Bengal Vidarbha Ranji Trophy Match
The Ranji Trophy match between Bengal and Vidarbha was halted due to remarkable circumstances when a snake was spotted in the outfield and teams were forced to head off the field.
In cricket, one has often witnessed play stopped due to rain or wet outfield. There have been occasions when dust storms have forced play to be halted. In other instances, matches have been halted due to power failures. If one goes even further, then we have seen matches getting abandoned due to crowd trouble or due to a dangerous pitch. However, the Ranji match between Bengal and Vidarbha was halted due to something unforeseen. (Latest Ranji News)
In the match played at the Jadavpur University Salt Lake Campus ground, a Snake held up play at the venue. When Vidarbha were out on the field, the snake was spotted in the outfield by one of the Vidarbha fielders and play was stopped. In a report on cricwizz, the local groundsmen managed to chase the snake away with sticks. Eye witness accounts stated that the snake could have been poisonous and the authorities decided not to take the risk. Here is a tweet of that incident.
Snake forces stoppage of play during #RanjiTrophy match between Bengal-Vidarbha at JU campus in Salt Lake pic.twitter.com/JzYOaLA7DH
- Cricfit (@CricFit) November 7, 2015
Apparently, this was not the first time the teams faced the snake problem. At the end of the day, when Bengal made 217/7, the home team headed off to the dressing room when they spotted another snake in the toilet. This caused further panic and confusion.
The Jadavpur University ground has been used in the past to stage the Vijay Hazare matches but this comes as a major embarrasment for the Cricket Association of Bengal