Bizarre ‘Sun Stops Play’ interruption halts T20 Blast match between Kent Spitfires & Gloucestershire in Canterbury

4 hours ago 3

ARTICLE AD BOX

Gloucestershire openers D'Arcy Short and Miles Hammond got off the pitch due to sunlight hitting them on eyes (Gloucestershire Cricket)

There have been some bizarre stoppages in cricket’s 180-year history. One such incident occurred during Wednesday’s T20 Blast match between Kent Spitfires and Gloucestershire in their South Group clash at St. Lawrence Ground in Canterbury, where the players were forced to leave the field due to the sun.

Chasing a modest target of 158, Gloucestershire’s openers got off to a confident start before “Sun Stopped Play” at 8:15 PM local time, as the duo of Miles Hammond and D’Arcy Short left the pitch when the light was shining directly into their eyes.

The openers returned after an eight-minute delay.

Gloucestershire Cricket confirmed the unusual interruption on X, posting: “Sun stops play. Rather than rain, the sun is in the eyes of the batters. For the safety of the players, the sides have come off the pitch. Score remains 29/0 [3.2].”

Gloucestershire successfully chased down the total in 18.2 overs with seven wickets in hand, with skipper Jack Taylor scoring a fine half-century. Taylor made 54 off 36 balls, supported well by Oliver Price, who contributed 41 off 31 deliveries to guide their team to victory.

🚀 As if they never left!

☀️ Hammond hits a 6 just 3 balls after coming off due to light issues. #BecomeGlorious pic.twitter.com/X2E3tZAzAZ

— Gloucestershire Cricket 🏆 (@Gloscricket) June 18, 2025

However, this wasn’t the first instance of sunlight interrupting play. A similar stoppage occurred at McLean Park in Napier during the 3rd T20I between New Zealand and Pakistan in 2020, when the sun’s angle made it difficult for batters to see the ball. Play was halted until sunset before the home side resumed their innings. Earlier, the same ground had witnessed an identical interruption in January 2019 during an ODI between New Zealand and India.

Earlier in the T20 Blast match on Wednesday, Harry Finch and skipper Sam Billing scored 42 and 38 respectively, taking Kent Spitfires to 157/9 in 20 overs after electing to bat.

Read Entire Article