I'm an umpire ... get me out of here
The players and on-field umpires were ready to begin but there was no sign of the third umpire
ESPNcricinfo staff
28-Dec-2023
David Warner saw the funny side of the situation • Getty Images
From bees to burnt toast and gravy, there have been unusual reasons for delays in play over the decades, and another one was added to the strange list in Melbourne.
The Australia and Pakistan players were all set to resume the second session on day three of the Boxing Day Test at the MCG, but the on-field umpires Joel Wilson and Michael Gough could not give the go-ahead for the action to begin. The reason being that third umpire Richard Illingworth was stuck in the lift on his way back from the dining hall and unable to reach his position on time.
"Again? It happened a couple of days ago, somebody got stuck in the lift here," former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram said with a laugh on Fox Cricket. "I can understand this happening in our part of the world, getting stuck in the lift, but over here? I've never seen anything like this before."
Former England captain Michael Vaughan said he knew exactly which lift was the culprit. "It's a slow lift. It could be a while here. Clearly the lunch was pretty good, because he had a lot of it."
The delay lasted seven minutes and Illingworth waved to his on-field colleagues once he had made his escape. "He's made it," Vaughan said. "He looks a bit tired. Maybe he had to come up the stairs."