We hear about a cricket match beong stopped by rain, but have you ever heard about a match being brought to halt due to sun. This bizzre incident happened during T20 Blast Match Between Kent Spitfires and Gloucestershire on Thursday,June19.
Gloucestershire’s openers got off to a confident start before “Sun Stopped Play” at 8:15 PM local time. Miles Hammond and D’Arcy Short had to leave the pitch when the light was shining directly into their eyes causing an eight-minute delay.
Gloucestershire Cricket confirmed the unusual interruption on X, posting: “Sun stops play. Rather than rain, the sun is in the eyes of the batters. For the safety of the players, the sides have come off the pitch. Score remains 29/0 [3.2].”
This wasn’t the first instance of sunlight interrupting play. back 2020 a similar incident had happened when a 3rd T20I between New Zealand and Pakistan was stopped at McLean Park in Napier, when the sun’s angle made it difficult for batters to see the ball. Play was halted until sunset before the home side resumed their innings. Earlier, the same ground had witnessed an identical interruption in January 2019 during an ODI between New Zealand and India.
Gloucestershire beats Kent
Harry Finch and skipper Sam Billing scored 42 and 38 respectively which helped Kent Spitfires post 157/9 in 20 overs after deciding to bat first. Despite the interruption, Gloucestershire successfully chased down the total in 18.2 overs with seven wickets in hand. Skipper Jack Taylor scored a fine half-century. Taylor made 54 off 36 balls and was well supported by Oliver Price, who scored 41 off 31 deliveries.
