MELBOURNE: The second session of Day 3 of the ongoing second Test between Pakistan and Australia got off to a delayed start as third umpire Richard Illingworth got stuck in a lift.
After an eventful first session, things got even more interesting when the commencement of the second session got delayed by six minutes due to a mishap with third umpire Illingworth.
On-field umpires Joel Wilson and Michael Gough were all set to resume the action after lunch but they were informed that their colleague was not present upstairs.
Richard Illingworth got trapped in one of the lifts of the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) and could not return to his seat in time.
The game is delayed because the third umpire … is stuck in the lift #AUSvPAK pic.twitter.com/eSuKyPQp56
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 28, 2023
Reserve umpire Phillip Gillespie had to rush into the third umpire’s box to fill in for the unavailable third umpire.
Despite being in a tense situation as Australia was 6/2 in their first innings, opening batter David Warner found it amusing and could not hold his laughter.
On the other hand, Steve Smith was heard asking Wilson if he could sit down until his colleague arrived.
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The unusual delay left Wasim Akram, who was commentating on the game, in splits.
“Again? It happened a couple of days ago, somebody got stuck in the lift here.
“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,” Akram quipped.
Fortunately, third umpire Richard Illingworth managed to escape the lift and offered a relieved wave at his fellow umpires.
A wild Richard Illingworth appeared! #AUSvPAK pic.twitter.com/7Rsqci4whn
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 28, 2023
Later in the session, fourth umpire Gillespie had to briefly give a cover for Wilson as an on-field umpire when the latter walked off the field for an over.
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