In a hilarious incident, a cricket match was momentarily interrupted when a dog entered the ground, picked up the ball and ran around the field catching the onlookers off-guard. During an Irish domestic women’s game played between Bready and CSNI, the four-legged furry creature entered the field with a leash, picked up the ball and much to everyone’s amusement sprinted around the ground.
The incident took place in the ninth over of CSNI’s innings. Chasing 74 to win in a rain-curtailed 12-over match, batter Abbi Leckey dabbed the ball just behind the keeper. The fielder at short third-man ran towards the ball square on the off side, picked it up, turned around and threw it back to the wicketkeeper. As soon as she threw the ball, the camera caught the first glimpse of the dog.
Wicketkeeper Rachel Hepburn collected the ball and had a shy at the stumps, only to miss it. And that is when the dog, with a leash, decided to produce a glimpse of its fielding prowess. The dog picked the ball and ran in all its might as the incident triggered smiles and laughs from everyone involved, including fielders and commentators.
Just then, a spectator arrived on the scene, possibly the owner of the dog and gave its pet a chase. Soon enough, the dog jaywalked towards the batter at the non-striker’s end, where it received strokes from Aoife Fisher and finally decided to let go of the ball.
While instances of animals bringing the play to a temporary halt is not new, this one promises to have a place of its own. In fact, numerous times have dogs halted play briefly, but it’s safe to say that never has a dog provided this kind of entertainment on a cricket ground.
