Snake Stops Play

Snake visit stops first class game.
PTG Editor.
Wednesday, 11 December 2019.
PTG 2968-14729.

Matches around the world have over the decades stopped for a wide range of strange and intriguing reasons - sun, snow, bees, burnt toast - and when a snake gate crashed an Andhra-Vidarbha Ranji Trophy first class game on Monday, it wasn't exactly making hissstory. The apparently cricket-loving snake wandered onto the field during the game for a pitch inspection and held proceedings up until it left the ground.

Its not the first Ranji Trophy game to be held up by a snake, or a first for Vidarbha in that regard. Four years ago Bengal fielders encountered a one-and-a-half metre long snake when it slithered onto the ground during a match against Vidarbha.  Ground staff were pressed into action and used sticks to chase the reptile from the ground.  It was clearly not a ploy by the home side to rattle Vidarbha because a snake was reportedly later found in the Bengal dressing room toilet, but whether it was the same snake is not known (PTG 1683-8265, 9 November 2015). 

In Ahmedabad in 2012, more than a dozen balls were lost during a series of Under-19 matches when they were hit into bush around two adjacent grounds where venomous snakes and poisonous lizards are said to abound.  A report at the time said ball boys assigned to the games "didn't venture too far" in search of balls hit out of the ground, and as a result the reserve umpire was often seen "making a sprint to the middle with a set of old balls [to select from] so that the game could continue” (PTG 1018-4951, 15 November 2012).

Snakes have made sporadic appearances at other matches over the years (PTG 1018-4951, 15 November 2012, and PTG 402-2132, 4 April 2009), including on England's visit to Sri Lanka in November 2007.  During a tour game against the Board President's XI in Colombo, a cobra was seen just outside the boundary rope, sending the England fielders into a tizzy, but luckily the venomous visitor did not enter the field on that occasion.

In December 2016 in Perth, Western Australia, players in Meadow Springs south of Perth faced a frightening proposition when a Augite, a species of venomous, potentially lethal, snake native to the region, slithered across the pitch bringing play to a standstill in a club match.  The reptile was closely watched by players and parents alike as it made its way across the turf and into neighbouring bushland (PTG 2003-10129, 13 December 2016).

Two February’s ago in western Sydney, a young visiting Englishman was bitten by a poisonous snake while searching for a ball hit beyond the boundary.  He was quickly taken to hospital where he had several anti-venom and steroid injections, then remained hooked up to an IV drip for several days after the incident (PTG 2045-10363, 11 February 2017).