Leather balls swapped for snowballs after rogue storm interrupts play in Yorkshire club match
Snow interrupts England club match
Cricket may be a summer sport, but try telling that to these two England club sides.
Players from Sowerby Bridge and Copley cricket clubs found themselves throwing snowballs at each other in the outfield after an unseasonable snow storm interrupted their Halifax Cricket League clash last weekend.
We asked for a white track and a green outfield - what's all that about !! pic.twitter.com/kJS4qNny09
— Sowerby Bridge CC (@sowerbybridgecc) April 16, 2016
It was an unexpected turn of events after a sunny morning in Yorkshire, in northern England.
"I woke up on Saturday and it was a bright, sunny morning so we were very hopeful of getting a game in,” Sowerby Bridge second XI captain Martin Mellor told ecb.co.uk.
"It just went dark – a big black cloud sat above our heads and the wind died down completely.
"Initially we carried on but the snow and hail got heavier and heavier, bouncing off helmets and the wicket.
"The umpire brought us off and within 10 minutes the whole ground was white.
"It was amazing really. We went from thinking we were going to buck the recent weather trend and get a full game in first day to all of a sudden throwing snowballs at each other on the outfield."
Dan Wheelwright does his Jurgen Klinsmann impression today... pic.twitter.com/69zNoulAbu
— Sowerby Bridge CC (@sowerbybridgecc) April 16, 2016
It’s not the first time snow has interrupted play in English cricket matches – there are at least eight other documented instances, including during WG Grace’s final first class match at the Oval in 1908.
More recently, a friendly between county teams Hampshire and Surrey at Ageas Stadium was interrupted by a rogue snow shower in 2013.