Shane Watson
It was the famous summer of 2005, Australia toured England for The Ashes and the 1-1 result is known to everybody, the videos went viral on YouTube. However, there was more to Ashes in 2005 than this. It was June 22, Shane Watson will never ever forget the night at the Lumley Castle Hotel, Durham.
There are a few things Shane Watson will never be likely to live down – a weakness for lbw, a weakness to review said lbw decision no matter how hopeless, and his ghoulish goings-on at Lumley Castle.
After hearing of how the lady of the manor met her maker in 2005, Watson wasn’t able to get any shut-eye in his courtyard room and reported to the reception before famously seeking refuge on the floor of Brett Lee’s room.
Word spread quickly and the Australian team media officer, Belinda Dennett, confirmed the story too and added her two cents: “I saw ghosts. I swear I’m telling the truth. Several of the players were uneasy although a lot of them in the morning said they were fine … but maybe they were just trying to be brave.”
The allrounder was later reassigned to Room 46 and that eventually calmed his nerves. Only when Watson checked out was he told that was the very room where Lily was murdered.
According to locals, the hotel is supposedly haunted by a 14th-century aristocrat who was murdered by Catholic priests. Not only that, the lady of the castle (now a hotel), Lily Lumley, was murdered by two priests after she refused to practise and follow the Catholic church.