Boo! Ghosts have England jumping

Update

Kevin Pietersen obviously read the below story, given the tweet he posted after England capitulated to lose the second Test against India at Lord’s.

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Earlier

England cricketers have reportedly been kept awake at night, not by their on-field performances which have seen them go nine Tests without a win, but apparently unearthly apparitions and poltergeists haunting their five-star central London hotel.

Fast bowler Stuart Broad said paranormal activity in his room at the Langham Hotel had "really freaked me out" and he had asked to change rooms.

"During the Sri Lanka Test I had to move rooms," Broad told UK tabloid Daily Mail.

"It was so hot in the room I just couldn’t sleep. All of a sudden the taps in the bathroom came on for no reason.

"I turned the lights on and the taps turned themselves off. Then when I turned the lights off again the taps came on. It was very weird.

"It really freaked me out. I ended up asking to move rooms. Bealey (Broad’s girlfriend) was pretty spooked, too, and I know Moeen Ali’s other half won’t stay there because she’s so frightened of the ghosts.

"Ben Stokes has had some problems sleeping as well. He’s on the third floor, which is where a lot of the issues are. I’m telling you, something weird is going on."

Broad said he ended up spending the night with team-mate Matt Prior in the wicketkeeper's twin room after being "convinced there was a presence in the room".

The fast bowler said he had encountered no problems during the team's stay at the Langham during the current Test at Lord's, but something strange was in the neighbourhood during last month's visit from Sri Lanka.

"One night I woke up in the middle of the night, around 1.30am and I was convinced there was a presence in the room," said Broad. "It was the weirdest feeling."

"I turned the light on and looked online and could see Matt Prior was online, too. I went to his room and he said exactly the same thing. He was wide awake as well. Neither of us could sleep because we were so spooked out.

"Matt was in a twin room so I ended up sharing with him. I don’t know if it’s because we’re talking about it more that we sensing more is going on but it’s weird.

"It’s definitely caused a few sleepless nights."

The Daily Mail article made no mention of how England captain Alastair Cook has been sleeping, but without an international century in 26 innings, a 14-month span where he is averaging just 23.67, it cannot be well.

Quick Single: India dig in to build Lord's lead

The Langham Hotel promotes tales of unearthly visitors on its website.

Broad is already a fan favourite in Australia after standing his ground following a nick to first slip in last year's Ashes opener at Trent Bridge and this will surely give England's opposition fans plenty of material to shout from the grandstands.

England's ghostly encounter revives memories of Australia allrounder Shane Watson's experience at Durham's Lumley Castle in 2005, when he spent part of a night sleeping in Brett Lee's room after having his sleep disturbed.

Watson, so the legend goes, saw the ghost of Lily Lumley in the 700-year-old castle where the Australian team stayed on that Ashes tour. Unsettled, he asked for his room to be changed and spent some time in Lee's room before alternative accommodation could be arranged.

Watson later insisted it was all a product of his overactive imagination after hearing the tale of how Lily had been tortured and thrown down a well by priests after refusing to convert to Catholicism.

The Australia team returned to Durham last year for the fourth Ashes Test, prompting Watson to say: "Well, the good thing is we're not staying at Lumley Castle so I don't have to worry about going back over those issues that I had back then."