Random Cricket Photos Post 11




Looks like a picnic, right? But trust me, it's anything but one.
Umpire Dickie Bird, standing first time in a Lord's Test, didn't have any idea that on the third day of the 1973 Test match between England and West Indies, he would be sitting protecting the pitch while being surrounded by West Indian cricket fans. So, what led to it?

A bomb.

Well, it would later turn out that it was just a scare but for almost a good one and a half hours, crowds watching the match at Lord's in 1973 feared for their life as the authorities got a call informing them of a bomb being placed in the stands by the Irish Republican Army.

While many decided to leave the ground, the revellers decided to invade the pitch and sunbathe as the security personnel frantically searched for a non-existent bomb in the stands. Umpires Charles Elliot and Dickie Bird took upon themselves the responsibility to protect the pitch, even if it meant hearing some not so pleasant words from the West Indian crowds who had reservations against Bird no-balling some of their bowlers. Maybe, the hand on the face in this Ken Kelly photo captures the frustration of one of those exchanges.

To make up for the lost time, it was decided to add extra time to the remaining days of the match, but West Indies being West Indies, won the match by an innings with a day and a half to spare. Bird, meanwhile, survived the ordeal to stand in 63 more matches.

The match, however, gave him a reputation. When water suddenly started gushing onto the Headingley pitch during a Test in 1987 and caused a delay, a fan confronted the umpire and asked why such things happen only when he's around! 
Poor Bird!

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