A Hole in the Pitch: The Rare Incidents That Stopped Cricket Matches in Their Tracks

A freak pitch incident saw a WBBL match abandoned after a ball damaged the wicket, echoing a rare 2003 Test match moment in Harare when a similar mishap delayed play but was remarkably repaired.

Cricket Strangest interuptions (Image Source: Google)

Recently an Adelaide Strikers and Hobart Hurricanes WBBL match at Karen Rolton Oval in Adelaide ended in a silly mess. During the break, a warm up ball rolled onto the pitch, got stuck under the roller and damaged the wicket. Result: Match called off, points shared and with that the Strikers were out of the playoffs (finals) race.

The ball settled into the wicket and left a hole when it was removed from the surface, and this prompted the umpires to abandon the match.

There are many non-cricketing reasons, stopping play in a cricket match but the freak incident of a ball rolled into the pitch, resulting in abandoning a match is something unique.

The Strikers had posted 167 for 4 in the 20 overs with Madeline Penna top scoring (63) and Hurricanes were preparing to start their run chase, then this incident happened. It was considered that due to the hole on the surface, the pitch condition has changed significantly.

Will you believe that something similar has happened earlier also and that too in Test cricket. In 2003, the start of the third day’s play in the first Test between Zimbabwe and the West Indies at the Harare Sports Club, Harare was delayed after a practice ball was accidentally run over by a pitch roller. This created a hole in the pitch. In this case the damage to the pitch was repaired and play resumed whereas the WBBL match was abandoned.

The timeline of the 2003 Test Match is very interesting. Zimbabwe's Trevor Gripper was the batsman who hit a practice ball onto the pitch area and at that time the ground staff were rolling the wicket. The roller operator, unaware of the ball’s arrival inadvertently ran over the ball, this pressed the ball hard into the dry pitch which resulted in creation of an inch-deep hole, at the city end of the ground.

Umpires Simon Taufel and Billy Bowden decided that the pitch was unplayable in that condition. It was clear that the damage would change the behaviour of the pitch making it dangerous. There was no arrangement at the stadium to repair such a dent. The start was delayed.

Robin Brown, a former Zimbabwe opener from the eighties, was the HSC groundsman at that time. He immediately sought an auger (a drilling tool) from a nearby golf course (Royal Harare Golf Club). The process adopted was to remove the damaged turf and fill the space with a portion of the pitch, dug from behind the stumps or in other words a minor turf transplantation took place.

India’s Gundappa Viswanath was the match referee. He inspected the repairs along with both the captains, Brian Lara and Heath Streak. Once satisfied, the play eventually commenced after a delay of 121 minutes. A light rain shower also occurred during this delay. Viswanath postponed the lunch to allow a two-hour session.

On the other hand, in the WBBL match it was considered that with the roller creating a hole in the pitch, the conditions were changed significantly. As such, after consultation between the match officials and the umpires, it was concluded that it would be unreasonable to expect the Hurricanes to bat in conditions that were materially different than those the Strikers had experienced. The agreed result proved costly for Adelaide as they were officially ruled out of qualifying for the Finals.

At Harare, the play was due to start at 9.30, half an hour early, to make up for time lost on the second day. The preparation to start the play were on when Trevor Gripper’s mis-timed drive sent a practice ball on to the pitch, right in front of the roller. The repairing efforts proved beneficial and the further play showed no signs of any damage to the pitch. Believe it, the offending piece of turf was coated in resin and is kept as an historic item.

The West Indies team under Brian Lara in 2003/04 toured Zimbabwe and South Africa. In Zimbabwe, this was the first of the two Test series. Zimbabwe batted first and finished the first day on 284/6. Heath Streak (127*: his maiden Test century, in his 56th Test, a record.) with Andy Blignaut (91), added 168 for the 8th wicket to help Zimbabwe finish at 507/7d. When the play ended, 36 minutes before the scheduled end due to bad light, the West Indies were 11/0. To make up for this loss of the play, it was decided to begin play half an hour early (9:30 am local time) on the 3rd day.

Left-arm spinner Raymond Price collected 6/73 (finished the Test with 10/161) to hand his side a first innings lead of 172. Zimbabwe declared before lunch on the final day, setting a target of 373 and giving themselves a little over two sessions to bowl the tourists out. The West Indian batsmen failed to deliver, and the ninth wicket fell at 204 with nearly 12 overs to go. However, Ridley Jacobs (60*) and Fidel Edwards battled for 32 minutes and 71 deliveries in fading light, snatching a heart-stopping draw to the immense relief of their teammates. For Zimbabwe, this ended a run of 11 consecutive Test defeats and came heartbreakingly close to their first victory over a senior Test team since June 2001.

After this thrilling draw, the Windies won the Test series by defeating the hosts in the final Test in Bulawayo by 128 runs.