Snake interrupts international cricket match

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Law enforcement officers remove the snake on the field

Photo: Anupam Nath/AP

Sportingly, there was nothing to smile about for the South African players in the clash with India: in the run-up to the World Cup in T20 cricket, the hosts suffered a defeat.

The encounter in Guwahati, India, will remain in happy memory above all because of what happened next to the sporting side: First, a floodlight failure caused an interruption, then law enforcement officers frantically went in search of an uninvited guest on the field: A snake had gotten into the game Barsapara Cricket Stadium strayed and made it impossible for the game to continue.

Only when the helpers were able to catch the reptile with a stick and carry it off the field to great applause from the spectators did the sporting confrontation continue.

David Miller, the South African batter, took the breaks calmly.

Commenting on the floodlights failure on Circle of Cricket, he said: 'It's not within our control so we've had a bit of time to process what happened on the power play – the first couple of overs.

That gave us a bit of time to talk about it and think about how to proceed.«

And to the uninvited guest: »And then there was the problem with the snake.

I mean, there was a lot going on today.«

The South Africans don't have to worry too much about the defeat: At the previous World Cup, the Australians came with a series of defeats behind them - and still won the title in the end.