[WATCH] Elderly man on mobility scooter crosses sight screen, halting players at Hagley Oval

Hagley Oval in Christchurch was briefly the setting for one of the more unusual interruptions seen in four-day cricket when an elderly man on a mobility scooter rolled across the sight screen while the 2nd unofficial Test between New Zealand A and India A was in progress. The scooter moved directly through the batter’s line of vision, cutting off the delivery before it could be bowled.

Right-arm medium pacer Brett Randell of New Zealand A had already begun his run-up when the scooter appeared behind the bowler’s arm. Randell pulled out of the delivery, and India A’s lower-order batter Akash Deep, stationed at No. 9 and waiting at the crease, signalled for the stoppage. However, the elderly man gave no indication that he realised he had wandered into the playing sight line at all.

Play continued only once the obstruction had moved clear. Stoppages of this kind are far removed from the usual causes of delay in cricket, which tend to involve weather, pitch inspections or the occasional spectator who runs onto the outfield. A mobility scooter drifting across the sight screen sits in a category of its own, and the clip drew considerable attention well beyond the match itself.

The fixture, part of India A’s tour of New Zealand in the 2026-27 season, runs from October 31 to November 3 at Hagley Oval. New Zealand A won the toss and chose to field first.

Akash Deep went on to make a significant contribution in that innings, scoring 68 off 116 balls with 10 fours and 2 sixes before being dismissed caught Foxcroft bowled Clarke. Dhruv Jurel, captaining India A and keeping wicket, top-scored with 105 off 171 balls in the same innings.

Randell finished India A’s first innings with 21 overs bowled, 5 maidens, 66 runs conceded and 2 wickets at an economy of 3.14. He removed Yash Rathod for 13 and then dismissed Jurel for his century, with both wickets taken as catches in the field. At the close of Day 1, before those dismissals were completed, Randell’s figures read 16 overs, 4 maidens, 43 runs and 1 wicket at an economy of 2.69.