County Championship Game Called Off after Arrow Finds its Way on the Field
Sep 1, 2017 at 10:43 AM
Cricket fans over the years have witnessed games being abandoned or suspended due to weather conditions and in some case crowd trouble, but a County Championship match in England was suspended for the most peculiar or rather mysterious of reasons on Thursday (August 31).
The play was suspended shortly after tea on the fourth day of the Surrey-Middlesex clash at The Oval after a metal-tipped crossbow bolt was fired onto the field.
The game could not proceed further after the crossbow bolt landed on the square, near Surrey fielder Rory Burns. The on-field umpires immediately stopped the play before instructing the players to head to the dressing room. A warning was also issued to the spectators. With the match being called off after the incident, the game ended in a draw.
Play suspended at the Oval on advice of security. Players have left the field after a crossbow bolt landed on the square….. pic.twitter.com/V5fJADvuKK
— Middlesex Cricket (@Middlesex_CCC) August 31, 2017
The Metropolitan Police, while confirming that there have been no injuries after the shocking incident, stated that the bolt was likely fired from outside of the ground. They also stated that the incident is not being treated as a terrorist act at the time being and no arrests have been made so far.
Well…we have just officially gone off the field because a metal tipped arrow just landed on the pitch!! 👀
— Stuart Meaker (@SMeaker18) August 31, 2017
Richard Gould, Surrey’s chief executive, spoke about the incident and admitted that the metal-tipped bolt could have killed anyone.
“It had a pointed end and stuck in the turf when it crossed the outfield and landed,” Gould said.
“We are investigating reports that there was a noise on the roof of the OCS Stand but we haven’t been able to get up there to investigate whether it was the projectile ricocheting off the roof or a separate projectile. It is the sort of thing that could easily have been fired some distance from outside the ground if it came from a crossbow. It could very easily have killed someone.
“We may never find out if it was a deliberate act, but in these heightened times, these sorts of acts are wholly irresponsible.
“People should not feel threatened in this way. If it is more than mischief-making, then we need to find the perpetrators. We will review our security arrangements, but threats can be so wide-ranging.
“There is probably no way of securing against this type of incident if it was fired from outside. We always try and provide the safest type of environment, but it can be very difficult to stop this kind of act,” he concluded.